Turn the Season
by RazedRainbow
Summary: A single image can change everything. It can present ideas we had never before considered to be possible. It can remind us of happier times, or leave us broken- thinking about what could have been. It can hold secrets we long to never reveal.
1. Chapter 1

If Twilight Sparkle saw one more Wonderbolts photograph, she was going to scream. It was one thing to idolize a group, like a band or, in this case, a stunt team, but obsessing over them like they were the essence of life itself was going way too far. There must have been two hundred autographed photos of the pegasi donning their trademark flight suits in each horseshoe box, and there were more than twenty boxes under the bed alone. How Rainbow Dash had managed to get such a large quantity of horseshoe boxes that were cloud-safe was a mystery- Twilight had never once witnessed the pegasus wearing horseshoes. She had scrounged through just five boxes over the combined course of a whole day, and she still had to sort through the belongings in Dash's desk. Twilight didn't expect to find much in the way of 'egghead' supplies in the desk- the unicorn was thinking that discarded cupcakes and dusty weather logs would be the kind of things the pegasus would stuff in a drawer. It made her chuckle slightly, remembering Rainbow's total disregard for the sanctity of anything, but like all the displays of any emotion other than 'cripplingly depressed' during the previous two days, it felt forced and hollow. Even though it was the way Dash would have wanted it, it was hard to celebrate.

Pinkie Pie had attempted to throw a 'funeral party' of sorts, but it just hadn't clicked with anypony. When the emcee of a party is a depressed, quivering husk of their former self there's not much fun that could be had. The party had dissolved after only a half-hour- Applejack left first, using apple-bucking as an excuse for her early departure. Twilight knew that the farmer was leaving so that she could release her built up emotions in private. That was the strange thing about Applejack and Rainbow Dash, neither one of them had what would be called a pleasant experience growing up, and yet they never seemed to want to mention it. Twilight at least thought that Dash would have _bragged_ about how _bad _her childhood had been- the pegasus would use anything as proof that she was better than someone else, even if it was boasting about the amount of abandonment issues she had in comparison to Ponyviille's librarian.

"_You have the ruler of the kingdom as a surrogate mom,_" Dash had loudly stated one winter's eve, after a couple too many liters of apple cider, "_The only motherly figure I ever had was the chef at the orphanage, who was also a convicted foalfiddler. A foalfiddler, Twilight. That's the closest thing I've ever had to a mom._"

The weirdest thing about that situation was that, not only was it the only time Rainbow had ever brought up her foalhood, but it had also been delivered in a serious, sullen way: There was no competitiveness in her trembling voice, and the gleaming in her eyes was that of pain, not enthusiasm.

She got to the last of the series of autographed photographs and custom-made rally flags and jerseys (this particular box had consisted entirely of jerseys bearing the name Fleetfoot, Dash's personal favorite Wonderbolt) , and tossed it on the disheveled bed. None of the others had dared touch the bed, fearing that the simple movement of a pillow would cause Dash's possibly vehement spirit to come back and haunt them. At least, that's what Pinkie Pie seemed to think. Twilight refused to adjust the sheets because they were one of the few tendril's of Dash's living, breathing presence that remained, and she didn't want that to go away. She_couldn't_ let that go away. Rainbow's bedsheets were one of the few non-Wonderbolt related items in the entirety of the house: She even had Wonderbolt china and silverware fore Luna's sake. Instead of the usual embodiment of blue and gold, Rainbow's bedsheets were as white as a cloud, mainly because they were, in fact, a cloud. As far as the unicorn could tell, all the chairs and beds- all the items furniture in the house Dash used, figured Twilight- were made entirely out of thick plumes of cumulonimbus, hoof-crafted into a wide variety of styles. The sheer amount of variety in style and exquisite design had made Rarity squeal in delight when they had first entered the cloud manor. A fraction of a second later, she had realized the sheer stupidity and insensitivity of her sudden burst of poorly timed excitement, and apologized immensely to a sobbing Fluttershy.

Twilight's purple eyes drifted up to a bulletin board, and two items caught her eye: One sent a chill of pain through her spinal chord, the other, intrigued tingling. The first was Rainbow's work-schedule for the month, including days off and planned storms. The other was a photograph, barely visible behind a worn first-place ribbon. The unicorn used her magic to grab hold of the weather schedule, and levitated it down in front of her with precision and grace that only the finest of mages could muster. Not that a simple novice couldn't levitate objects: Even mixed-breed unicorns, like Rarity possessed a rather strong telekentic abilty It was just that whenever Twilight did it, she looked like royalty: Paper at the perfect angle for her to read the words, whilst keeping her head at the proper posture of a dignitary. She scanned the schedule once, and then once again, her stomach twisted by the ironies, and her eyes burning format he bitter sorrow.

Rainbow Dash had died on Tuesday night.

According to her schedule, she was supposed to have Tuesday night off.

She had had no reason to be out in the storm, but she had chosen to go out and fight it anyway: Putting the safety of Ponyville over her own.

She had been a hero, and with each revelation Twilight felt her inner-strength disintegrate a little more

_'Why, Dash? Why?'_

_"...Well, I disagree, Spike. I like some of Stephen Kolt's work, and I really enjoyed The Dark Monolith series, but Celestia, he can't write a proper ending to save his life."_

_"Sure, but you gotta admire the guy's writing style."_

_"You just like him because he has a thing for unicorns and uses swear words."_

_"No! That's no it at all… although, Christina does remind me of Rarity… Wowza, what a bucking babe!"_

_"Spike! Lanuage!"_

_"Sorry, Twilight."_

_"It's alright, Spike. Although you better watch that language, I don't want to start having to deal with a miniature Quentin Trotantino here."_

_"Who's Quentin Trotantino."_

_"A genius. A twisted, vulgar, jerk of a genius." Twilight rested her head on her hoof, wistfully staring into the middle-distance_

_"Uhh, okaaayy… I don't want to disturb your… enthralling revirie, but I'm going to hit the hay… pillow… whatever."_

_Twilight couldn't hear him: Images of Discord getting shot repeatedly in the face with a machine gun filled her head, and brought a sadistic, child-like grin to her purple lips. Spike just slowly backed away from her, inching closer and closer towards the safe-haven of his bed/basket. He kept telling himself that he would start sleeping in the guest bed, once a night, every night since they had moved to Ponyville. However, he had yet to even lay a claw on it's sheets. Old habits died hard, and Spike just couldn't let his old bed go. Of course, there was also the fact that he had grown quite fond of the feel of plastic scraping against his scaled tail, nearly cutting off circulation . 'I guess size __**doesn't **__matter.' Spike's prepubescent mind cackled to itself. He laid down in his basket, and pulled the sheets around him, hoping that this night's dreams of Rarity wouldn't cause him to have to wash his sheets early in the morning- desperately trying to rinse away the results of his passions before Twilight awoke and discovered his routine, embarrassing predicament. _

_"So, uh. 'Night, Twilight."_

_"Goodnight, Spike"_

_The baby dragon was sound asleep before Twilight could turn her head away from him. Her eyes drifted outside the window, to the stars and the Moon. She loved stargazing, and always found herself getting absorbed in the beauty of these nocturnal displays of streaking comets and distant stars for hours on end, delaying her bedtime far longer than was good for her health. This night, however, was fairly overcast, and she quickly found that the only parts of the sky she could clearly see was the Moon, occasionally peeking out from behind the cloudy veil. A distant clap of thunder rang out, but she couldn't determine from which direction it was coming from: She hoped that it was coming from the Everfree Forest. If it wasn't, then it meant that the storm was planned and not natural, meaning the weather patrol had decided to concoct on storm on the same night that the moon was supposed to be at it's brightest. She adored these occasions when the Moon got to show it's full power to all of Equestria, and she didn't want it getting ruined by bad planning._

_The unicorn determined that her plans for an evening of stargazing had been haplessly shattered by the weather, and figured that it would be best if she went on to sleep. She could use the extra hours of shuteye anyway. Maybe the storm was a blessing in disguise. She sighed: Despite trying to look at the bright side, she was still greatly disappointed. She had really wanted to do some stargazing. 'Oh, well. What's that quote that Stephen Kolt put in the front of one of his books?' She thought to herself, '"You don't always get what you would prefer."? Ehh, that's close enough'. However, she did hope that the sudden storm was out of the weather patrols hands, because if it was planned, the unicorn would break every law of magic she could think of, and use her most powerful telekinetic spell to personally wring Dash's wings. She smiled at the disturbing, yet sarcastically exaggerated thought, and closed her eyes earlier than she had in a long time._

_Spike had, once again, woken up to moist sheets. It frustrated him to no end. He wasn't the one deciding to have long, drawn out dreams about Rarity's backside: It was his mind's work. Spike would rather have dreams about getting eaten by zombies, if it meant he didn't have to clean his sheets, with shame, in the library's kitchen sink, in wee hours of the morning so he wouldn't wake Twilight. The one thing that gave him even the slightest hint of solace on this particular occasion was the gentle patter of rain on the tin awning that hung over the kitchen's window. Spike had always found storms to be calming, no matter how intense they got, and nothing put him to sleep faster than the sound of rain falling on windowpanes, leaves, roofs, or whatever other object he may have been sleeping under. Of course, the calmness made washing his sheets even more frustrating: He could have been sleeping soundly at that very moment, but his endocrine system seemed to have other plans. He longed to scream out in anger, frustration, and woe._

"**AAAAAHHHH**"

_Spike fell off of the stool he was standing on with an immense clatter. He cringed, half in pain, and half in preparation for Twilight's wrath being hurled at him for waking her up. However, not even the lightest of clops could be heard on the floorboards above his head, and after holding his breath for a minute, he let out a deep, relieved exhale: He hadn't woken her up. After he was assured of his own safety, his mind wandered to the noise that had made him fall onto the floor in the first place. It had sounded like a long, drawn out scream, far off in the distance. At first, he had assumed it had been the wind, blowing through a cracked open window, but all the windows in the library were sealed tight, and the wind was blowing, according to a nearby flag, away from the old oak tree: No current would have passed through either one of the downstairs windows. Besides, Spike could clearly make out the details of a living voice in the sound: The strain, decrease in volume, and cracking during it's decrescendo. The hints of a phonetic meaning behind the sound. Something was definitely going on in Ponyville, and he was going to find out what it was. Discarding the soggy sheets in the basin, Spike slowly crept over to the library door, undid the many locks Twilight had installed in the door to keep burglars out, and cracked open the door._

_The streets of Ponyville were dead: Dead empty and dead quiet. Miniature rivers and lakes made from the rain flowed through the cracks in the cobblestone, illuminated by the hazy light of a hidden moon. The leaves of the bushes that surrounded the doorway to the old library slumped under the weight of water droplets, their flowers a far duller color in the dampness and darkness, and overhead, he could hear he creaking and sway of the old tree-house's branches. Aside from the fauna, there were no signs of any living object for as far as Spike cold see. He had assumed that the sound had been a local stallion or mare, who had consumed one too many drinks, and was drunkenly stumbling down the path while hooting and hollering at the top of their lungs. However, there was no way they would have been able stumble out of Spike's sight before he had reached the door, and Ponyville's streets were empty: It had not been a drunk or a crook. Spike gave a disappointed sigh: For a split second he had let his immature mind run free, and had imagined that he was some kind of detective, whom had been working on a difficult case for a long period of time, and had finally found a huge lead. He imagined that, when he emerged from the library, he would come face-to-face with the culprit he had been searching for, right in front of him after years of persistent investigation. Then there would be a chase, and explosions, and Rarity, and vaults filled with so many gems that a dragon could swim, and possibly drown, in it. However, life didn't play out like the books he would occasionally read when Twilight wasn't looking: There were no lakes of gemstones. He gave a dejected sigh, and closed the door, seizing his reverie._

_He waddled back into the kitchen and grabbed his wet sheets. He took them over to a nearby drying rack, and tied them down tightly on each end. Then he did something that would make Twilight completely flip if she found out about it. With the patience and precision of a master chef, Spike took a deep breath, and blew, letting out steady flow of low-temperature fire. Despite being "low-temperature", the flame still held the ability to fully ignite a flamable object, such as sheets, in a mater of seconds, so Spike made sure to keep a fair distance away from the linen: Allowing the heat to reach it, but without the flame itself touching the fabric. It was far quicker and more efficient than the air-drying method that Twilight and most of Ponyville used. Satisfied with his stealth skills, Spike patted himself on the back, and began to sneak back upstairs so he could go back to sleep and repeat the cycle. As he reached the third step, he heard what sounded like a knock, but he assumed it was just the wood settling or a squeaky step. He froze in place, and then heard the knocking again. It was definitely coming from the door of the library. Spike felt a cold sweat begin to escape from the pores of his scaly, purple forehead, and his bones suddenly felt like jelly. 'Who could possibly be here at this hour?', the baby dragon prepared himself to defend himself if what he found behind the door was a drunk looking for a fight. He swallowed hard, begged Celestia to forgive him for blaming the missing candy on Owlicious, and threw back the door._

"_Applejack?"_

_The farmer pony stood stoically in the doorway, resembling a ghost more than a healthy mare. The stetson she always wore, even at formal occasions, was missing from her head, and her blonde mane was gathered up in a far messier ponytail than it usually was- stray strands of mane draped over the earthpony's back and face. Her coat was covered in mud and rain. Her face showed no real expression, but her eyes were as red as a summer's rose: Spike knew that something was wrong, but he could also tell that Applejack had no intention of telling him anything._

"_Is Twilight here?"_

"_Yeah, she's asleep upstairs. You want me to get her for you?"_

"_Ah'll go up myself."_

_Spike wanted to speak up in protest, or at least ask Applejack to explain what was going on, but she had already barged into the library, and was heading up the steps, and he lacked the guts to impede in the determined, hurt mare's progress. He debated whether or not to follow her up the stairs, but eventually chose to stay down in the atrium and stew over the possible reasons behind Applejack's appearance: Every single one of them twisted his stomach in fear._

_When she woke up, Twilight knew she had had a good dream: She couldn't remember a thing about it, but she knew it had been a good dream. Her euphoria was short lived, however, when she noticed that the world outside her window was still as dark as it had been when she had fallen asleep. 'What the- I just heard Spike open that door,and it's not even morning yet... He's sneaking snacks! Ooh, I swear to Celestia I have to tell that dragon everything a thousand times before he gets it into his thick skull. I-' Her thoughts had been professing loudly while her body still laid in her comfortable bed, thrashing around with each upset thought related to the dragon's insubordination, while she tried in vain to get off of the rather large "single" mattress in an ordinary fashion. Eventually she just fell flat on her face, sheets falling comically on top of her face. She waited for laughing, but there was none. It was then that she knew that not everything was normal in Ponyville Library: When it came to laughing at other's misfortunes, Spike took every chance he could get. There was no pouncing at the target this time, and it worried Twilight. Hastily, she ripped the sheet off of her face, and came face-to-face with Applejack._

"_Applejack? How did you-"_

"_Spike let me in."_

"_And where S-"_

"_Downstairs"_

_Everything about this situation seemed wrong to Twilight: The fact that Applejack was in her room in the middle of the night, the fact that she was answering her questions quickly, as if she didn't care about them at all, and especially the way she looked: She looked like she had been to the bottom of the deepest pit of Hell and back, without taking a shower. The earth pony's whole face was damp, but there were two streaks near the edges of her eyes that were significantly darker than the one's on the rest of her face. It was with this that Twilight realized that something seriously bad was going on. She knew just how hard it was to get Applejack to cry- the orange mare was as resilient and emotive as the apple trees she made a living with. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she never had seen Applejack cry before. Yet here she was with stained cheeks and misty eyes, and Twilight knew that the answer to the next question would tear herself apart._

"_A.J... What happened?"_

_The mare let in a husky, shuttering breath, it was obvious that she had been sobbing, and it was obvious that she hated herself for doing so. Applejack was trying her best not to look the unicorn in the eye, but Twilight could still clearly see the fresh tears the farmer was trying desperately to hide. Finally, she was able to compose herself enough to give Twilight an answer. It was a typical-Applejack answer, honest and straight to the point. Looking back, Twilight wished that Applejack had been a bit more sympathetic, but at the same time, no matter how Applejack had broken the news, it would have still felt like a sledgehammer._

"_Twilight...Rainbow...A...S-somethin...It's bad, Twi. It's bad.'"_

Twilight scrunched the work schedule, like she scrunched her teary eyes, warping the parchment into a tight ball using her magic, crushing it to the point of near-disintegration. It was hard enough to lose a friend, it was even harder when their death seemed avoidable and pointless. Twilight wanted to travel back in time and punch herself for those final thoughts she had had before closing her eyes: Maybe if she hadn't have thought those frustrated thoughts about Rainbow, karma would have let the pegasus survive the night. She threw the ball of paper against the wall, disappointed that it didn't destroy something, or at least make some sort of loud noise, when it hit the cloud wall. She fell back on her haunches, weeps threatening to escape her hoarse throat. She had learned many lessons about friendship over time, but this was the one she had always longed to never learn- especially not so soon.

"Twi? Ya okay?"

Twilight turned her head, and saw Applejack standing in the doorway. The cowpony's eyes seemed a lot lighter and sympathetic than they had on the night of the accident, but the purple unicorn could see that the pain was still there- floating just below the surface. She was once again without her trademark hat, but this time it was a mutual decision. Applejack had said it would have been disrespectful to Dash to wear such a casual object to her funeral. They all knew that Rainbow wouldn't have given two bucks if they had all shown up in clown suits, but it still seemed like it was an event that called for formal wear- not to mention Rarity's belligerent insistence that she design special, custom dresses for the occasion.

"No, Applejack. Not really."

"Heh, ya sure ya ain't the Element of Honesty?" The farmer gave the closest thing she could to a chuckle- it sounded more like a sigh than anything else. Twilight gave no acknowledgement of either the joke or the failed laugh, choosing to simply stare at the mare. Two tortured pupils locked in a duet of suffering.

"Well, Ah can't say Ah feel any better, Twilight."

"I'm glad we can all agree on something," In any other situation Twilight would have immediately felt guilty about her sarcasm, but, at this moment, she had no qualms whatsoever.

Applejack glared at the unicorn, not sure whether she should yell at the librarian for her insensitivity, or simply ignore the comment. No matter what she chose, it wouldn't ease the sting of the unicorn's words. '_How dare she talk ta me like that," the farmer's thoughts burned with the rage of a thousand suns, 'She ain't the only pony here who's hurtin'! She ain't the only pony here who lost their best friend..'_ She shook her head, causing the her long, tied mane to silently bump into the cloud walls. She couldn't be like this. She was the only pony here who could say they had been through the loss of a loved one before, and it was up to her to make sure that the other's got through it. Feeling sorry for herself wouldn't help anypony. But, still. Twilight's attitude was starting to get on her nerves.

"Uh, look, Twilight... Ah'm... Ah'm gonna have ta step out for a bit."

"And where are you going? Going back to your house so you can feel sorry for yourself? Abandon us like you did at Pinkie's party?

Applejack knew that it was the mare's depression talking, but Applejack was going through her own grief, dealing with her own pain, and with those questions Twilight ignited a bomb of frustration that had been building in intensity over the past two days. All ponies grieved in different ways- Applejack's involved getting angry.

"Well, Twi, in case ya'll ain't buckin' noticed, yer not the only ponies in Ponyville who lost someone they care 'bout. Maybe ah feel bad too. Maybe ah cry mahself ta sleep every night, jus like ya'll do. Maybe ah need some space right now. Maybe ah need ta get away from all the pain this bucking house brings me. Have ya ever thought about that, Twilight?" The built up, venomous rage practically dripped off of every syllable the earth pony uttered: Hell itself could not look any more vehement than Applejack's face at that moment. Twilight flinched, each word hitting her like a wrecking ball.

"Applejack... I'm sorry." The unicorn's voice cracked, but it didn't do anything to calm down the angry farmer.

"Ya'll just need to learn that just 'cause yer the Princess' pupil, don't buckin' mean yer the only one 'round here who's grief means somethin'.

With that, Applejack stormed down the hall and out the front door. Her brother, Big Macintosh, had built a makeshift pulley system with an old apple barrel and rope so the girls could get to and leave the cloud whenever they needed. By the time Twilight had gotten to the doorway to chase after the venting farmer, the bucket was already halfway to the ground. The unicorn let out a defeated sigh and reentered Dash's bedroom: There were still ten or more boxes to go through.

Her moist eyes drifted back up to the bulletin board that hung over Dash's bed, and landed on the second item that had caught her eye. The edge of a photograph, peeking out from behind one of the pegasus' many first place ribbons. The ribbon was from a race that Rainbow had won in Fillydelphia, and judging by the dust and worn fabric, it had been won a _long_ time ago- probably back when Rainbow was still just a filly. Not wanting to damage the memento, Twilight removed the ribbon with her hooves, rather than with magic. Carefully, she placed the ribbon on the desk, and looked back towards the wrinkled photograph.

What she saw made her breathing halt.

Tank was cowering in his shell, and it was breaking Fluttershy's shattered heart.

The pegasus had read many books on animal behavior over time, and they were split down the middle when it came to animals and grieving. Some said that animals went through a grieving process far more powerful than that of a regular pony. Others said that a pet can't comprehend the concept of death, and can go on with their lives without their master almost immediately after their death. Personally, she believed the former: She had seen far too many broken pets in her time to believe otherwise.

"Come on out, Tank... I've got carrots. You like carrots, right?"

Not a trace of movement came from the tortoise's shell.

"Tank... You haven't eaten in two days. Please eat something!"

The yellow pegasus had tried everything to get the tortoise to come out of his shell. She had tried singing, giving him his favorite treats, and offering to take him for a walk (An idea that, in hindsight, probably wouldn't have worked no matter what). She had even brought Angel Bunny by to try to coax the old reptile to come out of his shell, but even the persuasions of a fellow pet didn't seem to have any effect. The only reason that Fluttershy knew that the tortoise was even alive was because she could occasionally hear loud snores echoing from the depths of the large shell. Still, if Tank didn't eat anything soon, even the snores would seize, and Fluttershy was becoming increasingly desperate. She had lost her oldest friend already- she didn't want to lose one of the first animals she had ever taken under her wing, as well.

"Fluttershy, darling... Just leave him be, he'll eat in due time."

Rarity had been cleaning up around the living room the entire time that Fluttershy had been trying to feed Tank. It amazed the unicorn how messy Rainbow's house was- it was made out of clouds, there wasn't much that could get dirty. '_Leave it to Rainbow to do the impossible_,' thought to herself, memories of fear, happiness, and sadness, filling her head, and spiraling through her mind like a unicorn who had flown to close to the sun. Releasing the duster from her telekinetic grip, she waltzed over to her shy friend, and wrapped a loving foreleg around her neck.

"I...just don't want the poor dear to starve."

"I know you don't, Fluttershy. But, you really should give him some space. Just leave the carrots near him, and let him eat when he's ready."

"B-but, what if he doesn't want to eat? W-w-what if he's refusing to eat because of... of what happened?"

"Now, now, Fluttershy. You mustn't think such things. He _will _eat."

"P-promise?"

Rarity felt the temperature of her heart increase to the boiling point: Fluttershy had such an innocence to her, and it made her such a joy to be around.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Fluttershy smiled: it was a tiny smile, but it was a smile that carried the same amount of brightness as a Pinkie-Pie-grin. Rarity pulled her friend into a tight hug, letting her friend rest her weary head on her shoulder. The unicorn knew that the pegasus was trying her best to act tough, but tough was simply not her forte. Rarity felt her well-groomed coat begin to dampen, but she paid no mind to it: She was guilty of dampening Fluttershy's coat with her own tears, anyway. She delicately pushed the pink-maned pegasus back, teal eyes locking onto blue. Rarity gave her own gentle smile,

"Feeling better?"

"A bit... Thanks, Rarity."

A dull thud could be heard from the doorway behind them, and they turned to see Twilight Sparkle lying face-down on the cloud floor, a photograph slowly floating through the air above her head. Rarity reached out and grabbed the photograph, as Twilight lifted her head, eyes rolling in confusion and dizziness. Once she had gotten her bearings straight, the purple mare jumped up and ran over to her two friends, snatching the picture from Rarity's hoof. The shy pegasus and regal unicorn exchanged confused glances between each other, before Fluttershy spoke up.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing, Twilight?"

The mare had been staring, wide-eyed, at the photograph clutched in her hooves- a mix of intense thought and shock written across her face. It took her a moment to realize that Fluttershy had even said anything, then another moment to realize that Fluttershy had been talking to her. Twilight finally locked eyes with Rarity, shoving the photograph into the same set of hooves she had ripped the picture from the clutches of mere moments before. Rarity and Fluttershy looked at the picture and gasped- the pegasus rubbed her eyes with her front hooves, and looked again, thinking she had just been seeing things. But, as she looked back at the coffee-stained, worn photograph, she realized that she was not witnessing an illusion.

It was an image of a unicorn with a cyan coat and a tricolor mane- red, yellow, and orange. What shocked the three mares was not the unicorn, but rather what he had clutched in his two front hooves. He was grasping, and gazing lovingly at, a young Rainbow Dash.

If jaws could hit the floor, there would be three lying upon the ground at that moment.

The long silence was broken by Twilight's voice,

"Fluttershy, you knew Dash longer than any of us... She _was_ an orphan, right?"

"Tha-...That's what she told me."

"She told me she was an orphan as well, darling."

"Yeah. She told me she was an orphan, too."

"Who do you think this stallion is, Twilight?" Fluttershy had comforted Rainbow Dash at certain points during flight school: The tough-as-nails pegasus weeping about how lonely she was. The simple idea that Rainbow could have ever had a loving, adult figure in her life was a hard pill for Fluttershy to swallow.

"I'm thinking he could be her father."

"Twilight... This is a unicorn."

"Sure, but he has the same face, the same mane-style... He looks way too much like her for him _not_ to be her father.

"Still... I don't know...Rainbow always said she was a... you know... An orphan"

"An orphan doesn't have to be born without parents, darling. They can lose their parents over time. Just look at Applejack."

"Umm, Rarity... Applejack's dad is still alive."

"Technically, yes. But I can' assure you that Applejack does not acknowledge him as such."

"But they named the farm after him."

"No, darling, they named it after their mother. Honestly, Fluttershy: Do you really think somepony would name their son, "Sweet Apple"

"Well...it's a possiblility."

"Girls!" Over the years, Twilight had learned that raising her voice was the best way to get her friends' attention. The two mares stopped their mini-conversation about proper colt names, and shifted their attention back to the purple mare. Twilight continued,

"Look, I don't know what she told you girls, but Rainbow always told me that she had been 'left on the orphanage steps' the day after she was born. In this photo, she has to be at least two years old, if not three. Something is _not _adding up here."

Rarity placed a hoof under her chin, and stared off into space, searching for an answer. Fluttershy also placed her hoof under her chin, but she kept her eyes locked on the photograph. After a minute of intense concentration, it was the light bulb within the shy pegasus' mind that ignited first.

"I think I know who that is!"

"Who?" Both of the unicorns rang out in unison.

"Wait here... I'll be right back." With that, Fluttershy flew out of the door, heading towards her small cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest, leaving the two unicorn's alone in the cloud. They stood in complete silence for all of four seconds before Rarity re-broke the ice.

"So, what happened between you and Applejack?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't get coy, Twilight. I could hear you two arguing from in here. Whatever happened made Applejack mighty upset."

Twilight let out a sigh, she really didn't want to delve into her confrontation with Applejack again, but it appeared that she was going to have to: Once Rarity got her mind set on something, she couldn't be swayed.

"She... She said she had to leave: Had to go back to her farm. I... I got a little bit upset, and made a few... snarky comments. I shouldn't have said them but... I don't know... I haven't been the same since... you know?"

"That I do, Twilight. That I do," the seamstress chuckled sadly. Being the oldest of the Elements, she felt that, like Applejack, she had to put on a mask of toughness around her friends. Unlike the farm pony, Rarity had kept her pain effectively hidden, but it was still there: Even Fluttershy had no idea how much pain the unicorn was hiding, or even what she was hiding that made the hidden pain intensify tenfold. Trying her best to hold back the sobs that had been threatening to escape her throat consistently throughout the previous two days, Rarity gave Twilight a friendly nuzzle- anything to raise the librarian's spirits even a single percentile.

"Just know that I'm here for you if you need me."

"I know, Rarity. I know. Sorry if I'm being too melodramatic. I just miss her."

"As do I."

Twilight didn't even notice the unicorn's pained face as she choked out the words.

Fluttershy returned with a vinyl record case held tightly between her jaws. She walked up to the two unicorns and dropped the case upon the floor. The two unicorns looked at it for a second before reeling back in disgust.

"'_Buck Off and Die_'? Fluttershy, what the-"

"Fluttershy, darling, I don't know what kind of joke you are trying to pull, but now is not the time, nor is this the place, for such childish acts! I am ashamed that-."

"Umm, hold on a second. This isn't right."

The blushing pegasus bent down, and flipped the case over to it's reverse side.

"There we go."

The two unicorns once again looked at the case- more cautiously, this time- and immediately saw why Fluttershy had brought a record with such a profane title to a place of mourning. The back of the case consisted of a picture of three griffins, a pegasus, and a unicorn. The unicorn had a cyan body, a red, orange, and yellow mane, cut into a Mohawk, and a thick, orange beard. Twilight looked at the photograph she had found in Dash's room, and then stared at the album sleeve. She repeated this process multiple times before confirming that the unicorn in the photo and the unicorn on the album sleeve were one in the same: The purple unicorn was in shock.

"Fluttershy? How did you even come up with this theory?"

"Oh... it was nothing. Really."

"Nothing? Darling, Sherlock Pones himself could not decipher this as quickly as you did."

"No, really. It's not a big deal."

"Yes, it is Fluttershy. How did you find this? Please, tell me?" Twilight was practically hopping in anticipation

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, darling. Do tell!"

"Well, alright..." Fluttershy took a deep inhale, and Rarity and Twilight both knew that they were in for a long, rapid speech.

"I recognized his face."

There was a long silence before Twilight spoke up

"That's it?

"Erm, yeah?"

"So... You didn't pull off some kind of impossible series of connections to find out who this guy is?" Twilight was dumbstruck.

"No..."

"You didn't find some sort of hidden symbol in one of his tattoos or something?"

"No..."

"You just recognized him as a colt in this band."

"Yeah..."

"Well, this was hard," Twilight sighed, sarcasm clearly apparent, looking over at a shrugging Rarity.

"Uhh... That's n-not a problem...is it?"

"No, no. I just didn't expect it to be this simple. Nor did I expect you to own an album from a band like _this_"

"Oh, they're a really good band... That's just my opinion, of course."

"Maybe, but that's not important right now. Do you know where this band is from?"

"Yeah. They're based out of the Whinnypeg."

Twilight recoiled, "Whinnypeg? That's in the Northern Territories."

"Yeah..." Fluttershy was inching closer and closer to the floor: As nervous as foal waiting for their booster shot.

"Sweet Celestia, that's not even in Equestria."

"meep" Fluttershy could only squeak, practically lying on the cloud floor while Rarity tried to calm her down.

"Are they on tour, now?"

"N-n-n-no... Th-they went on hiatus... t-t-two years ago."

Twilight let out a sigh, her own nerves calming down a bit.

"Good. That means that it'll be easier to find him."

Rarity raised her head, eyebrow cocked up in confusion.

"Excuse me? What do you mean by 'find him', Twilight?"

"I mean, I'm going to find him."

"And why would you want to do that?"

"I don't remember seeing this guy at the funeral. Do you, Rarity?"

"No."

"From what I can tell, this is a stallion who's lost a daughter, and he has no idea about it."

"Or, maybe he just doesn't care."

"What?"

"Think about it for a second, Twilight. This 'stallion'... This 'father', abandoned his daughter when she was just a tiny filly. To me, it sounds like he could care less about his daughter's safety."

"How do you know he abandoned her? How do you know Rainbow wasn't lying when she said she was raised in an orphanage? For all we know, she ran away from home because she was angry at him. Hay, she could have just thought he was 'lame', and didn't want us to know he existed."

"BECAUSE SHE WOULD NEVER LIE TO ME LIKE THAT!"

The room went completely silent. Fluttershy looked over and saw the tip of Tank's head as it shot back into his shell in fright. She could see that there were bite marks on the carrot, and she smiled. This solace was short lived, as her attention turned back to the display that had just unfolded before her.

Twilight had recoiled back in shock at the unicorn's sudden outburst, and Rarity's face reflected the same amount of shock, mixed in with embarrassment.

"Forgive me for the outburst, Twilight... I have no idea what got into me."

"I-It's alright, Rarity."

"It's just that... Rainbow Dash always told me that she was abandoned as a foal... And, quite frankly, she never gave me any reason to doubt her claims."

"Hey, I'm the one who should be sorry. Those accusations were a bit harsh, and I apologize for making them."

Rarity simply waved her hoof, "Don't fret, Twilight... So, you are positive that you want to go see this stallion?"

"Yes."

"When do you plan on departing?"

"Well, I was planning on taking the first train tomorrow."

Rarity let out a sigh and stared at the ground, a cyclone raging inside her head. Eventually, she looked up and met Twilight's purple eyes.

"Very well... I shall join you. I don't think anything good will come from it, but I...I'll go.

"Are you sure, Rarity? You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"Yes, I'm sure... Somepony has to show 'loyalty' now, and I want that pony to be me."

"Uhh... I wouldn't mind going either, Twilight." Fluttershy piped up, albeit not looking entirely convinced that she was making the right decision

"...Okay...Should we ask Applejack and Pinkie Pie if they want to go?"

"Sure, why not?" Rarity's voice seemed to carry an uncharacteristic snideness

The pegasus gave the strongest nod she could muster.

"Great. Now, the first train headed up north leaves at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, so if you want to come, be at the train station by then. The trip will probably last through the night, and we have no idea how long we'll be staying in town, so make sure you pack a decent amount, alright?"

The two ponies nodded.

"Good... Now I'm going to go talk to Pinkie. Remember, nine o'clock."

With that, Twilight exited the cloud house, and took the makeshift elevator down to the ground. The moon was just starting to appear in the sky, bright as ever, but Twilight was in too big of a hurry to stop and admire it.


	2. Chapter 2

The moon was high in the sky, silhouetting two ponies in it's massive form as they crested the hill just outside of Sweet Apple Acres. Although Twilight had told Fluttershy to go and talk to Applejack, Rarity had insisted that she tag along as well. The pegasus made no complaints: If it meant she would have to do less talking, then she was all for it. The duo was surprised to see that the lights in the ranch's main farmhouse were all lit. Usually, the Apple family went to bed at sundown because they would have to wake up and work at sunrise. Rarity couldn't imagine going to sleep at such an early time, nor waking up at the crack of dawn: Then again, Rarity couldn't even imagine doing any manual labor whatsoever, save for the occasional threading of a needle. Fluttershy, due to all the animals she had to deal with on a regular basis, was a lot more open to the idea of such a sleeping schedule, mainly because it was a _schedule._ Although she wasn't a member of the Weather Patrol like ninety-five percent of the pegasi that lived in Equestria, she was still prone to having a very sporadic sleeping pattern. She may not have been called out of bed regularly to fight storms, but she was summoned at random times during the evening to feed her more nocturnal animals, as well as having to deal with the occasional wounded animal, whom seemed to love walking up to her front door and whimpering right as she was about to turn off her reading light and go to bed.

They made their way down the winding path to the farmhouse, admiring the beauty of the moonlight shining through the apple trees along the way. Rarity knocked on the front door while Fluttershy hid behind her own mane. Almost immediately, the door was thrown open, and they were greeted by a well-built stallion. Both mares blushed, an action that flew over the stallion's large head and squinted eyes. He wore a night cap and yellow-purple striped pajmamas. 'How gaudy!' Rarity giggled, finding the predicament she had stumbled upon the stallion in to be positively hilarious. Fluttershy stayed silent, although slightly gigling abou the situation, herself.

"Big Macintosh! It's been forever. What a pleasure it is to see you. Did we catch you at a bad time?" Rarity put on her best regal accent, but the red earth pony was not amused in the slightest.

"Eeyup."

"Is Applejack around? We need to speak to her for a moment."

"Eeyup."

"Can we come in?"

Big Macintosh moved out of the way, inviting the two mares into his home in his own manner. Slowly, they made there was out of the wilderness, and into the Apple family home. Rarity immediatly bolted for the kitchen while Fluttershy lingered behind.

"Thanks, Macintosh." She mumbled, trying her best to be flirtatious, and failing miserably at it. Big Macintosh paid no mind, and began to trod upstairs.

"Yer welcome. Ya'll keep the noise down, Ah've got tah be up in four hours and ah intend tah sleep every bucking minute of it."

Fluttershy's jaw dropped in shock. _'Macintosh must not be a big fan of the night_, she thought quietly- as if afraid that the stallion could read her thoughts. She quickly composed herself and chased after Rarity. She caught up with the unicorn in the doorway to the kitchen. She had halted her progress, and was leaning into the kitchen, staring in the direction Fluttershy knew the kitchen table was in. Careful not to be a burden, the pegasus peaked around her friend, and saw what had made the unicorn stop dead in her tracks. Fluttershy gasped and put a hoof up to her mouth.

Applejack was face-down on the kitchen table: An empty glass in one hoof, and an empty jug of hard apple cider in the other. It was clear that the earth pony was blackout drunk, and neither one of the two sober mares knew what to do in such a situation. Out of all their friends they had only had to deal with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie while they were drunk- and only Dash and Pinkie had been known to get drunk on semi-regular occasions. Despite her hardworking nature and short temper, Applejack had never actually drank enough to get intoxicated more than once- and that was a New Year's Eve they all longed to forget. Now, they were going to have to deal with a drunk or hungover Applejack, and they really were not sure whether they should attempt to wake the passed out mare, or leave her be, and wait until morning to ask her- or even ignore the farmer altogether, and just go on the trip without her.

Rarity crept forward like a make-up covered ninja, and tapped Applejack on the back: The earth pony didn't respond. She tapped her on the back again, and again, there was no response other than a brief snorting in her loud snores. Rarity looked up at Fluttershy with a look of dread, they both knew what the unicorn was about to do, and neither one of them wanted it to happen. Fluttershy began to shake her head vigorously, while Rarity looked to the old farmhouse roof, praying to the Queen of the Night to keep the drunken pony from killing her for waking her up. She turned back to the farmer, and raised a single hoof, closing her eyes tight in the process. '_Celestia, forgive me,'_ She prayed as she brought her hoof down to strike.

"**POP!"**

The loud crack of the slap echoed through the kitchen, and Fluttershy could hear Big Macintosh grunt in annoyance from the floor above. Rarity had retreated back to the doorway, expecting Applejack to come out of her stupor, swinging punches at anything she found in her blurred path. However, these punches never came. Instead, Applejack let out a loud grunt, and slowly lifted her head, blinking rapidly and scrunching up her face: Tell-tale signs of a hangover. The world slowly began to piece itself back together around the farmer, splinter by splinter. Eventually her eyes settled on the two mares standing in doorway, and she smiled, then frowned, and then smiled again.

"Howdy, ya'll. Ah dizn't 'cpect tah see ya'll ou' hereuh." Applejack's slurring, combined with her thick accent, made her words nearly impossible to comprehend.

"Fluttershy and I were just in the neighborhood and thought we would drop by." Rarity tried to keep any requests to herself until the earth pony sobered up a bit.

"Well'um, ya'll know how muzch ah'ze love meh sum cumpaneh."

"Umm, of course." The unicorn looked over her shoulder at the yellow pegasus still cowered in the door-frame. Neither said a word, but Rarity's frustration with the earth pony was obvious, and Fluttershy's nervousness was even more obvious. Rarity turned back to the farmer, and glared. She still had to go tell her sister that she was going to be going on a trip with the gang for a few days, and she was determined to get a good night's sleep as well. She put on her metaphorical boxing gloves and got ready for a fight.

"So, Applejack, darling... The girls and I are planning on going for a little trip, and we were just wondering if you would like to come along."

"Uh triep? Where tah?"

"Oh, nowhere special. Just a little city in the farming capital of the world!" It was not a complete lie: Whinnypeg really did lie near a large area known as the Golden Triangle.

"NAH WAI!"

"Yes, darling, 'way'. Do you want to come?"

"Doo Ah? Ah'd give mah left hind leg tah go!"

"So, I take that as a 'yes'?"

"Of course."

"Great... We're leaving tomorrow morning, by train."

"What time?"

"Nine o'clock."

"Alrigh'. Ah'll be dere.

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning, Applejack."

"Yeah... See ya'll in the mornin'

With that, the pegasus and the unicorn left the house, leaving the earth pony to stare blankly at her empty cider bottle, wondering where all the cider had gone.

"Pinkie! Are you in there? Open up! It's me, Twilight."

The Cakes were out of town for a convention in Canterlot, leaving Sugarcube Corner in the hooves of Pinkie Pie. Twilight considered this to be a very questionable business decision on the Cakes' part, but the reason she was standing outside of the shop in the middle of the night was not so she could register a complaint. She was there so she could talk to a pony prone to depression, during the darkest period in her life. Twilight kept her hooves ready, just in case Pinkie was not being herself, and tried to attack the unicorn. '_I know... it's Pinkie... Self-defense shouldn't be necessary, but there still is a possibility.._.' She drifted away from her thoughts when she heard the small click of a door latch. Slowly, the door began to inch open, and a bloodshot, blue eye was illuminated by the moonlight, staring at Twilight through the crack in the door. It was almost too much for Twilight to handle: She never wanted to see Pinkie like this.

"Pinkie? Can I come in?" Twilight asked quietly, as if worried that speaking too loud would scare the pink pony away.

There was no response from the mare, and her eye disappeared from Twilight's view. The unicorn felt her heart sink, briefly. Then she saw the door open wider, and it jolted back up to the surface. The lights in the bakery were all off, making it difficult for her to see Pinkie Pie. She squinted, but all she could see were display cases filled with cupcakes and half-eaten gingerbread houses.

"Come on in, Twilight. I'll get the lights." Pinkie's voice seemed to be lacking it's usual boisterous qualities. The unicorn hesitated entering the establishment, but then realized how stupid her hesitation was. _'It's Pinkie Pie, what's the worst that can happen?'. _With her confidence in her safety revitalized, Twilight took a breath and entered the shop. She closed the door behind her, and was entombed in a sea of blackness.

"Uh, Pinkie? Where are the lights?"

"Hold on... Where's that light switch... Is it here?"

Glass shattered.

"Nope, definitely not it. What about this one?"

The sound of gumballs rolling and bouncing across the floorboards echoed through Twilight's ears.

"Horsefeathers, that's not it either. Maybe, this one?"

Twilight had to close her eyes, and let them adjust to the sudden onslaught of brightness.

"There."

Twilight opened her eyes, and waited for the blurring to seize. Once her eyes had adapted, she saw Pinkie Pie sitting on the floor. What she saw was vastly different than what she was expecting.

When Twilight had seen Pinkie earlier in the day, she was an exact replica of what she had looked like during, what her friends liked to call, the 'Surprise Party Incident'. Her curly, bouncy, pink mane had completely 'deflated' and was hanging limply on the mare's face. The pony had refused to acknowledge the existence of anypony, and simply sat in her chair, staring blankly at the ground through tear-glazed eyes, while occasionally taking a bite of a cupcake or absent-mindedly blowing a noisemaker. Twilight was glad that she had attempted to throw a party under such tragic circumstances, and the unicorn knew exactly why Pinkie had even wanted to have a party, but trying to think about the good times, rather than the bad, proved to be too much for the pink pony to handle.

Now, Pinkie looked significantly better: Her mane had poofed back up slightly, and she even wore a seemingly genuine smile. However, her worn eyes still carried a glazed, distant look. Twilight decided to take a seat herself, and walked over to the table in the center of the room. Without looking, she pulled the stool back, and began to take a seat, only for her haunches' progress to be impeded by a large presence. She whipped her head around and came face-to-logo with a large sack of flour. The unicorn gulped, she had heard Dash's stories about Pinkie's behavior during the 'Incident'. According to Dash, Pinkie had been carrying on conversations with multiple inanimate objects, like turnips and lint, and had even given them their own names and 'voices'. _'If memory serves correct, this one's name is Madame Laflour,' _A bead of sweat began to snake it's way down her pale, violet face.

"Oops, sorry about that Twilight. I forgot I had even placed her there. You can lay her on the floor if you need to sit."

On one hoof, Twilight was relieved that Pinkie had not began speaking in a French accent, but on the other hoof, Pinkie was still refering to the bag of flour as 'her'. '_Well, at least she's not completely gone._' Twilight thought, trying to find the positives in the situation.

"You look better, Pinkie."

"I feel better." Although it was a statement, Twilight was not thoroughly convinced.

"Are you sure? You were in a pretty dark place, earlier. Hay, you were in a dark place just a few seconds ago: Why were the lights out, anyway?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes, "I was sleeping. You don't need the lights on when your sleeping."

"Point taken. Still, I can't help but be a bit suspicious."

"Suspicious about what?"

"Your mental stability."

"Pfft, why do i need mental stability. My mind can't walk around, can it? Why would it need to stable, when it doesn't need to stand?"

Twilight smacked herself hard in the face with her hoof, "That's not what I mean, Pinkie?"

"Well then, what do you mean?"

"You're referring to a flour bag as if it's a living being"

"Huh?"

"You called this bag of flour, 'her'."

"Well, it is a 'she'. Look at the brand name, 'Madame Leflour's Flour'."

Twilight didn't know what disturbed her more: Pinkie Pie's arguments, or the fact that said arguments made sense.

"Still, Pinkie. I want to know how you're handling."

"I don't have hands, silly, I'm a pony!"

"You know what I mean, Pinkie."

"No, I don't."

Twilight's patience was wearing thin, "How are you handling the... the 'incident'.

"By 'incident' do you mean the disappearance of the candy canes from the store window, because that totally wasn't me. It was Gummy, bless his little soul. He loves candy canes so much, but he can't really eat them without teeth, and sucking them tires his little lips out so quickly. Oh, I just want to hug h-"

"I"M TALKING ABOUT RAINBOW, PINKIE!"

The pink mare seized her babbling, and just froze: Stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped blinking... She just froze. Twilight could have sworn she heard the sound of breaking. Later on, she would say it was the sound of Pinkie's heart shattering once more, but at the time she didn't think about it; She was still burning with annoyance, and completely oblivious to the actual state the suddenly stoic earth pony was in. With each sharp exhale, Twilight got calmer, and with each exhale, she got more aware of the silence that had overtaken the small bakery. If she could recant her outburst, she would, but time travel was strictly forbidden by Equestrian law. Now she was stuck in a room with the pony she had just mentally desecrated, and it made her sick to her stomach.

"Pinkie?"

There was no response, just quivering, contracted pupils. '_You really bucked it up this time, Twilight._' Even the unicorn's own mind was assaulting her- not that she blamed it.

"Pinkie... I'm sorry...I...I really shouldn't have brought that up."

Silence. Deathly silence.

"Oh, Pinkie."

Twilight slowly made her way to the husk of a pony, hoping that she would not trigger something horrible if she moved to fast. She knew that Pinkie was a volatile being, but she had never witnessed such an extreme shift in emotion done so quickly: The sudden change felt like it was strong enough to give one whiplash. She had not expected the mere mention of Rainbow's name to have such an instantaneous effect on Pinkie. Did she think that mentioning Dash would deeply affect a pony who was clearly in a state of depression? Yes, but she had not expected _this_. The unicorn froze a few feet away from the pink shell, unsure whether or not she she should try to comfort the shell-shocked mare. She stared into Pinkie's blue eyes, and saw them twitch suddenly. They were now staring right at the unicorn- not _through,_ but _at._

This minuscule amount of acknowledgement was all Twilight needed to see. With a spring usually only reserved for Ponyville's resident 'party pony', the purple mare flung herself onto Pinkie, and gave her the most intense hug she had ever given anypony. Even her parents and Celestia never seemed to receive hugs of such magnitude. Of course, Twilight had never witnessed her parents or Celestia going through a bout of depression as severe as Pinkie Pie was going through. Now that she thought about it, save for her first day at magic school, she had never seen even a hint of sadness within either one of them.

Upon receiving Twilight's hug, Pinkie Pie had let the floodgates cave in on themselves, releasing a tsunami of pent-up emotions upon the mare's chest. She sobbed: Sobbed for Dashie. Sobbed for her friends. Sobbed for herself. After a while she couldn't even think of anything to cry for, but kept crying anyway, just for the sake of releasing. Twilight just held her close, whispering words of attempted solace into the party pony's ringing ears. Occasionally, Pinkie was able to choke out a syllable or two, and Twilight would always respond with the same two words:

"It's alright."

Pinkie Pie didn't believe her.

"Umm, Rarity? If you don't mind, I'd like to say something."

"Go right ahead, darling. Whenever you feel the need to speak, I am an open door."

"Okay... What they hay were you thinking, back there?"

Rarity stopped trotting down the path, sending a wave of dust up into her well-kept coat. Her head reeled back, and she stared at the shy pegasus, slack-jawed. Fluttershy had, after witnessing the unicorn's reaction, reentered her state of eternal shyness, once again making sure her long, pink bangs covered roughly eighty-five percent of her face.

"Fluttershy! I would have expected such _language_ from Applejack, but not from _you_."

"S-sorry, Rarity."

"It's quite alright. However, I must ask what you are insinuating, darling."

"I-it's about what happened back in the f-farmhouse."

"What about it?"

"Umm...You do realize Applejack was... drunk, right?"

"Yes, Fluttershy, I do believe that Applejack was a mite intoxicated. However, I don't see how that has anything to do with something _I _did wrong."

"Well...um, you got her to agree to come with us tomorrow... But she was so drunk, I don't think she'll remember what we said, in the morning."

"If that's the case, then so be it."

"HUH!"

"If she is too drunk to remember when to meet up with us, then I have no problems with leaving her behind."

"B-but Rarity..."

"I don't want some drunkard ruining this."

"Now, Rarity... Applejack's probably just going through a faze, or something. She'll be right as rain before we know it... I mean, how do we know this isn't just a one-off binge?"

Rarity thought for a moment, and let out a defeated sigh: She didn't know the answer, "Just... Just forget about it, darling." They were near the edge of the orchard, where the path spit in two: The right went back to Ponyville, and the left path diverged back into the orchard. The unicorn took the left path, and Fluttershy followed, not sure why the dressmaker wanted to take that particular route. They made their way down the road in a shared silence. Eventually they came to a clearing. It was a small, bare spot of land in the sea of timber, save for a single, large apple tree in the middle. Wrapped around it's trunk, was a large tree-house, it's interior illuminated by the flickering light of a candle. The two mares took a second to admire the architecture, before heading up the ramp. They found the door to the clubhouse to be open, and they could see the shadows of three small fillies, dancing innocently in the candlelight.

"FLUTTERSHY! RARITY!"

Not only were the trio of little ponies able to call out in perfect unison, but they were also capable of reaching decibel levels that would deafen an unprepared pony. The two mares had a brief moment to prepared themselves before they were assaulted by a hyperactive pegasus, a pushy earth pony, and an oblivious unicorn. It was the small unicorn who spoke first- voice cracking as she uttered her big sister's name.

"Rarity? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just in the area." Like many things the dressmaker had uttered during the day, this was only a half-lie.

"So, ya'll were at the farm? How was mah sis?" The young earth pony looked up at the dressmaker with pleading, amber eyes. The large pink bow she usually wore in her red mane was partially untied- most likely the casualty of an attempt at a 'knot-tying cutie mark'.

"She was... fine."

"Good. She was angrier than a cow in a chicken coop right 'fore ah left."

Fluttershy visibly shuttered, and Rarity felt her anger at the farm pony start to grow. It was one thing to binge on apple cider in the same house that a little filly was living in. Drinking and exploding in fits of drunken rage _while_ said filly was present was just unheard of. She tried to keep a straight face, not wanting to frighten the young ponies. Rarity had no intention on continuing a discussion about Apple Bloom's older sister's behavior, so she decided to sway the conversation back into the path she had originally intended on following.

"Sweetie Belle... I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you won't be able to stay with me this weekend."

"What? Why?" The older unicorn avoided looking into the younger's eyes, knowing that seeing Sweetie's confused, sad eyes would be too much to handle

"The girls and I are going on a... a little trip. We'll probably be gone the entire weekend."

"But, we were going to have a sleepover! We were even going to go out into the orchird and try to earn our camping cutie marks!"

Rarity mentally patted herself on the back. The crusaders would not have lasted the night if they had gone camping, and considering Applejack's state of being, and Rainbow Dash's... lack of being, it was up to her to stop the crusader's dangerous forays. She couldn't help but feel that she had somehow saved her sister's life. '_At least I can say I was able to save somepony...'_ Rarity's mind threatened to go back into the dark place it only receded to when she was behind closed doors, and it took all her effort to pull it back before the tears started to flow again.

"I'm really sorry, Sweetie. You can stay with me next weekend."

The tiny unicorn flopped on the ground, and pouted. Rarity smiled, and placed a hoof on her sister's shoulder.

"You can spend the night here, if you like. I'll come by in the morning to pick you up."

Sweetie Belle just nodded curtly. Rarity just continued to smile, and nuzzled her little sister's forehead.

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning."

The smaller unicorn just glared.

Rarity turned around and began to walk out of the clubhouse. She had had to deal with Sweetie Belle's little temper tantrums to know that she, like Rarity, herself, was impossible to sway once her mind was set on something, and it was best to leave her alone and let her vent her anger to her two friends, rather than to her older sister. She looked back over her shoulder and called out,

"Goodnight, girls."

"Goodnight, Rarity." This time the call was only a two-part harmony- the small unicorn refusing to acknowledge her sister's existence.

Fluttershy followed Rarity to the door, but was called aside by a voice that had not yet, spoken up: A high pitched, harsh, tomcoltish voice from a tiny pegasus with a purple mane.

"Fluttershy! I need to ask ya something."

"Sure, Scootaloo. What is it?"

The tiny pegaus looked up at her with bright eyes, making the older pegasus' heart explode at the sheer adorableness of the filly, before her words made the mare's heart explode out of pain.

"When's Rainbow Dash coming back?"

There was a long list of questions Fluttershy didn't want to have to answer, and Scootaloo had just asked the one at the top. The pegasus was lucky that she was a socially awkward pony: It made her aside glances, uneasy shifting, and shaky breathing seem like normal behavior, rather than nervous jitters.

"Umm... W-w-w-why do you ask?"

"Everypony's been telling me she's gone to join the Wonderbolts. I know she's gonna make it, and kick a lot of flank and all, but... I don't know... I really hoped that she would have said goodbye to me before she left, you know? Anyway, you're, like, her best friend and all, so you're bound to know when she'll come back through town. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss her, but-"

Fluttershy tried her best to cancel out the young filly's babbling. She couldn't believe that somepony had told her that Rainbow Dash had left to join the Wonderbolts. The mare understood why they had not wanted to tell Scootaloo the truth- the filly worshiped Rainbow as if she was a god. What she didn't understand is why they had decided to tell Scootaloo that particular version of a lie. When Scootaloo was finally told the truth, she would be broken to the point of permanence: Adding in the reveal that she had been lied to- that her idol had never been able to accomplish the dreams she had always held on such a pedestal- would surly crush the poor dear. Nopony should have to go through what Scootaloo would inevitably have to go through. It broke Fluttershy's heart, looking at the oblivious, exuberant pegasus, and she didn't think she could hide it anymore. She noticed the pegasus had stopped and was looking up at her expectantly, apparently having finished her soliloquy.

"So, do you know, Fluttershy?"

"No...No Scootaloo, dear, I don't. Sorry.

"Oh..."

The filly looked away, dejected- unaware of the far more depressing truth. Fluttershy debated whether or not to come clean with the young pegasus, but quickly shot those thoughts down: _'It's not my place to tell her_.' Still, Fluttershy couldn't help but notice Scootaloo's eyes. They shone hope that her idol would one day return to Ponyville- Flashing her new Wonderbolt uniform for all to see. Seeing those innocent eyes was too much for Fluttershy. Frantically blurting out a mumbled 'goodbye', she flew out of the door and through the rows of apple trees. What basic skills she lacked in flying were forgotten, replaced by the intense drive to get as far away from the clubhouse as she could, as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, she couldn't even make it out of the first grove before she hit a low-hanging branch and landed in the dirt. Her speed had been minimal, so her body lacked any physical damage: Her mental body was a different story. Her soul and heart had been fractured to such an extreme point, that she never expected them to fully heal. Alone, face-down in the dirt, surrounded by apple trees and cold memories, the despondent pegasus cried herself to sleep.

Twilight's dinner was practically frozen by the time she got back from Sugarcube Corner. Not that she would have ate it anyway: Spike was a great assistant, but a fairly miserable cook (Twilight's culinary skills were just as weak,if not weaker). It was a good thing she had eaten a cupcake while she was talking to Pinkie Pie. She slowly made her way up the stairs and into her large bedroom. Spike was already passed out in his bed, and Twilight didn't want to wake him. Unfortunately, the floorboards had other ideas, and a loud squeak awoke the baby dragon. He blinked at Twilight, lips peeled back in a snarl.

"Really, Twilight? You can stay out as late as you want, but don't buckin' wake me up when ya come in."

"Spike! Language!"

"Whatever! Where the hay were you doing out so late, anyway?"

"Language, Spike! I've heard sailor ponies swear less than you," The dragon showed no remorse for his choices in adjectives, "And for your information, I was with Pinkie."

"Woop-de-doo. She didn't try to kill you, did she?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. So, how was Ponyville's resident nutcase?"

"Spike, be nice!"

"'_Nice_' ends at bedtime!"

Twilight sighed, defeated.

"We're leaving early tomorrow."

Spike bolted up in his bed.

"Leaving? What? Where? Why?"

"We're going to Whinnypeg."

"Huh? Why?"

Twilight produced the photo she had found earlier, and gave it to Spike. He stared at it, puzzled and shocked.

"We're going to find this man."

"Why?"

"We think he's Rainbow Dash's father."

"...He's a unicorn."

"Yeah, and?"

"Dash is... _was_ a pegasus. It doesn't add up."

"Cross-species breeding happens all the time around here. Look at Derpy: She's a pegasus and her daughter's a unicorn

"Point taken. But, how do you know this guy's her father? How do you even know where he is?"

"Just look at him Spike. Aside from the fact he's a unicorn, and a stallion, they look exactly the same."

"Alright, but how do you know where this guy lives?"

"Apparently, he's in some underground band from the Whinnypeg area."

"Really? What kind of music do they play?"

"I don't know, you'll have to ask Fluttershy."

"What's this band named? I might look them up sometime."

"_Buck Off and Die_'."

"And you said _Fluttershy_ listened to this? I've got to check these guys out."

"You just like them because of their name."

"Quit making assumptions, Twilight. So, what time are we leaving?"

"Nine."

"Holy guacamole!"

"Come on, Spike. It's not _that _early. Now, go back to sleep. I don't want to have to deal with you whining about being tired on the train tomorrow."

"Way ahead of you, Twi." Spike was asleep as soon as the last syllable exited his mouth. The dragon's ability to fall asleep with the flip of a coin amazed Twilight. She wished she could fall asleep as easily, and rest as soundly, as the dragon did, but her mind always seemed to be filled with things that kept her uneasy and half-awake.

She laid down in her bed, set the picture on the nightstand, and let her eyes drift to the sky looming outside her window. It was a beautiful night- absolutely perfect. Yet, all the calming moon did was fill the unicorn's mind with more troubled thoughts. It was just as bright as it had been on Tuesday. It was just as bright as it had been on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala. It was just as bright as it had been the night Nightmare Moon returned.

But, it didn't seem to shine, anymore.

She groaned and threw her hooves on her face. She looked over at the picture, and began to wonder,

'_Why do I want to find him? For all I know, this colt hates his daughter. He did abandon her, and yet... He looks like he loves her so much in this picture. Oh, Celestia, if only things were easy. But, no, life has to be a series of convolutions.'_

She tore her eyes away from the photograph, and stared at the ceiling, searching the grains for a familiar sight. Finally she found it, a single series of curved lines that formed a lightning bolt: Each line was darker and thicker than the other, giving the illusion of multi-chromatic value. If she hadn't noticed the pattern before, she would have just assumed in was a hallucination caused by grief. However, she had noticed this particular pattern on the very night she had first moved to Ponyville, while she was staring at the roof waiting for the party going on downstairs to stop. The more she thought about it, the more the significance seemed to shine through.

Her acceptance into Canterlot Magic Academy...

Her cutie mark...

Becoming the Princess' apprentice...

Spike...

Coming to Ponyville...

All of these pivotal moments in her life happened because of Rainbow Dash, and Twilight had never gotten to properly pay her back. Instead, she had cursed the pegasus because a storm had threatened to rain on her parade. Despite knowing that it wasn't her fault, Twilight blamed herself for what had happened. She needed to be redeemed.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and she knew that unpleasant nightmares were more than likely headed her way. Before she closed her eyes for the night, two thoughts ran through her head"

The first was a prayer: A plea to Celestia, Luna, or whoever was listening, that things would get better.

The second was something Rainbow Dash had told her the night they had defeated Nightmare Moon. It was right after she had fixed the bridge- after Twilight had assumed the cocky mare would abandon them:

'_I'd never leave my friends hanging.'_ she had said in her typical, boastful way.

Before that moment, Twilight had doubted the mare's loyalty. At certain points after that night, she _still_found herself doubting her loyalty. However, when the chips were down, Rainbow Dash had always been there to save the day: Loyal as ever.

Even if it meant sacrificing herself to save everypony.

Twilight Sparkle bitterly wept to herself, and longed to wake up from the nightmare. She prayed that she would open her eyes, and Rainbow Dash would be staring quizzically at her, asking her why she was down in the dumps. She opened her eyes and was greeted by the mocking stare of the moon: A horrible reminder of the unwanted truth.

Rainbow Dash had paid the ultimate price to show her loyalty, and in doing so, she _had_ left her friends hanging- sad and dissonant. The Devil and God raged on in Twilight's thoughts, Their tone-deaf symphony providing the soundtrack to Twilight's dejected thoughts and dreams.

'_It'll get better, Twilight... I promise..' _

'_No...It won't._


	3. Chapter 3

Applejack awoke with the worst headache she had ever had: The sun, the sheets, her mere existence, all of it made her brain burn with indescribable, immense pain. It felt like she had been hit in the back of the head with a shovel twenty times- and considering how drunk she had been, it would have been no surprise to her if she _had_ been hit twenty times with a shovel at some point. For an eternity she had no idea whether she was asleep in her bed, or passed out in a roadside ditch: Considering how uncomfortable she was, she was leaning towards the latter. She punched the "ground" beside her and felt her hoof get absorbed by some sort of softness. She wasn't in a ditch, she was in her bed: With her hangover, this revelation did not relieve her in the slightest.

She let her eyelids gradually pull back. Muttered curses escaped lips as her green eyes were exposed to more and more sunlight. Eventually they were completely open, and her muttered curses had evolved into loud, four-letter words. If she were completely with it, she would have worried that Apple Bloom's virgin ears would be exposed to such language, but she was hungover: If anypony didn't like what they heard, they would just have to deal with it.

She gave herself a mental hoof to the brain. '_Come on, A.J. Snap outta it. It's fine ta be mad, and it's fine ta be sad, but don't turn into your buckin' fath-_" She had to cut herself off before she uttered the word. She had not uttered that word in nine years, and she had no intention of uttering it for the rest of her life. Still, it scared Applejack how much she had been behaving like... that _stallion_, recently. She placed her face in her hooves: There was only one way to get thoughts of he-who-must-not-be-mentioned out of her head, and that was distracting herself with hard labor. She chuckled at the irony of such distractions, but seized it quickly when her head started throbbing again.

The cider still had quite a grip on the earth pony, making walking to window feel like a trek across the open air. She stumbled once, twice, and had to lift her forelegs up to grab her dresser for support. For a piece of furniture that had been made at least a century before Applejack was born, the dresser did an admirable job at holding the earth pony's weight. She took a deep breath, and let go of the dresser, standing completely still until her perception stopped swaying like a boat in a gale. Her patience was worn, but she still held enough of it to wait out the dizzy spell. Clarity eased it's way back into her clustered mind, and she gained enough hoof-eye coordination to pick up her trademark hat and place it loosely on her head. She had forgotten to take out to untie her mane in her drunken stupor. This little blessing cut the duration of her typical morning ritual in half, leaving her with just enough time to go downstairs and drink a cup of coffee before heading out to the fields.

'_Today's gonna be a good day,'_ her mind rang out in encouragement: Her queasy, intoxicated stomach groaned otherwise

When Applejack saw that Granny Smith was awake and sitting at the kitchen table, she knew just how long she had overslept. As Macintosh used to say in his younger, more vocal years, their grandmother, "_ain't woken up 'fore noon since 'fore Princess Luna got banished to the moon._' and, in a way, Applejack believed it. The hungover, orange mare tried her best to sneak into the kitchen, get a cup of coffee, and sneak into the fields before Granny Smith could notice her- a task far easier then it sounded on paper, because of the old mare's degraded vision and hearing. Applejack crept over to the percolator, and began to slowly pour the piping hot liquid into 'her' coffee cup- a cup with a drawing of Applejack that Apple Bloom had made emblazoned on it. The drawing was good, even by adult standards: Applejack knew that her sister's cutie mark would eventually turn out to be one related to decorating and refurbishing- most likely, an apple being painted or a 'house' made out of an apple.

'_Now, if only that silly filly would get it through her head that bein' some sorta artist is her callin'. Then ah could stop havin' to constantly worrin' 'bout her gettin' into some sort of, 'Cutie Mark Crusaders, Alligator Farmers' accident. Definitely do favors for my stress, that's fer sure'_

"HEYA, 'SIS!"

'_Speak of the devil'_

In the midst of her sneaking about, Applejack had failed to notice that her little sister had been sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on a glass of apple juice. The mare was surprised to see the filly at the house: The Crusaders were supposed to be having a sleepover in their clubhouse, and Applejack had sincerely doubted that she would be seeing much of her sister the whole weekend. She loved her sister more than anything, but there were times where she couldn't handle her boundless energy: In the midst of a throbbing headache was one of those times.

"Hiya, Apple Bloom. What are ya'll doin here? I though you was havin' a sleepover with your friends."

"We were, but Rarity had ta' take Sweetie Belle home early, so Scootaloo and ah just decided ta call it off."

"Well, that stinks."

"Yeah... So, what'cha doin' sleepin' so late, sis?"

"Oh...uh, no reason... Just...uh...Didn't hear the rooster crow." Applejack was the worst liar in all of Equestria, but she could stretch the truth with the best of them.

"Ya sure, sis? Ya look like ya ain't feelin' too good. Are ya sick?"

"Nah...Ah just-"

"She ain't sick. Heartsick, maybe... But not sick."

Applejack cringed. At some point during the past minute, Granny Smith had awoken from the cat nap she was having in her kitchen chair, and had started listening into their conversation. To make matters worse, it looked like Granny was having one of "those" days: Those days where she couldn't' keep her mouth shut. Applejack prayed that her grandmother would ignore the multitude of questions that Apple Bloom was about to throw in her direction. She saw the spark of curiously flare up in the filly's amber eyes, and she prayed again: Unfortunately, the higher powers were away on business.

"Whaddya mean, Granny?"

"Uhhh, nothin', Apple Bloom, she means nothin'." Applejack was desperately trying to end the conversation before it went somewhere she didn't want it to go.

"Hush, Applejack. Ah know this is hard fer ya'll, but Apple Bloom's got a right ta know."

"No, Granny. Not yet!"

"Got a right ta know what?"

"If not now, then when?" Granny Smith was getting more aggressive than either of the Apple sisters had seen in a long time

"Uh, hello? Tell me what?" Apple Bloom's eyebrows were arched as high as the Drackenridge Mountains.

"Ah...Ah." Applejack was racking her brain, diligently searching for any excuse that would work: She found none.

"HELLLLLOOOOO!"

Both of the mare's stopped their arguing, whipping their heads towards the filly with the powerful lungs. Apple Bloom was staring at both of them, wide-eyed and afraid: She hated arguments. She hated them almost as much as she hated not having a cutie mark. All she wanted to know was what Granny Smith was trying to tell her. _'It can't be __**that **__bad.'_ she thought. She looked up at her granny, eyes as wide as the Sun and as innocent as a puppy dog's.

"What do ya wanna tell me, Granny? Why...Why does Applejack **not **want ya tell me?"

The mare's of past and present exchanged glances: They were on different sides of the fence when it came to telling the mare of the future, but Applejack knew that she had to show respect for her elders. She had to tell Apple Bloom the truth: The truth she desired to keep hidden.

"Uhh... Apple Bloom. Ya know how Ah've been...A bit...down in the dumps, recently?"

"Yeah?"

"And...ya remember what ah said 'bout...Why ah'm sad?"

"Yeah... ya'll said it was 'cause Rainbow had ta leave... Honestly, ah don't know why ya'll is so sad. Ah though ya wanted her ta become a Wonderbolt.

Applejack cringed. She could have come with a better excuse: At least one that wouldn't be so painful when it was exposed as a lie. But, it had been a spur of the moment thing, and she had said the first thing that came to mind: She just wished she had said something besides 'Wonderbolt'

"Ya see... Ah haven't exactly been... very...'honest' about... that."

"But... Whaddya mean?"

Applejack glanced at Granny Smith: The old mare's eyes were sympathetic, but still egging her on. She had passed over the horizon: There was no turning back.

"Well...ya...ya see, Rainbow... She did go away...But... it's...it's gonna be for a l-long time...And... she won't be coming back." It took all of Applejack's might to keep from bursting into tears right then and there. Even if she didn't say that "four-letter word", the finality of the statement still hurt.

Apple Bloom was starting to tear up, mostly out of confusion, but Applejack could tell that, deep down, the filly was starting to understand what was going on: She understood that Rainbow Dash was gone and wasn''t coming back.

"Ah...Ah... Ah don't get it...Why can't she...c-c-come back...Is she banished or somethin'?" Applejack sighed: Her sister was going through _'denial'_

"No...it's..."

"It's what? Why aren't ya tellin me ?" The filly's eyes were far more arched than they had originally been: '_Anger'_

"Ya wouldn't understand..."

"Yes ah would...Maybe...Maybe there's somethin ah can do. Ah...The Crusaders and ah have a whole piggy bank full of bits. Maybe... that-" Applejack stuck out her hoof, gently seizing Apple Blooms raving: '_Bargaining'_

With her sister's hoof over her mouth, her green eyes gazing at her with glazed sadness, Apple Bloom began to fully realize, and truly accept the truth. She started to cry, silent tears cascading down her yellow cheeks: Tears for herself, tears for her sister, tears for Rainbow Dash, tears for her mother, tears for the sheer fact that such a thing would have to happen in a world as supposedly 'perfect'.

'_Depression'_

Applejack pulled her sister into her arms: Her headache numbed by the pain in her heart. Granny Smith, her weak hip keeping her from rising from her chair, stuck out a hoof and placed it on the filly's back: Patting her on the back like one pats a newborn foal on the back. The two mares knew that they'd have to tell the filly about death one day, but it still didn't make the outcome of the revelation any easier to take.

"She...Sh-...Oh, Celestia...She...Sh-"

"It's okay, dear. It's okay." Applejack had not heard her Granny speak with a tone like that since she was comforting her after her mother passed.

"Ah...ah-ah-ah...Wha-"

The filly's sobbed words were halted by a harsh cough: Applejack could feel snot running onto her forelegs. If it were any other pony, and any other situation, she would be disgusted. The filly's cries began to lessen in severity, and she was eventually able to open her pained eyes and look up at her sister: Applejack noticed that they were lacking a certain spark, a certain innocence. Like her friend, like her mother, that innocence was never coming back.

"Wha-...What abou' Scootaloo? She-sh-sh-she doesn't know... Oh nonononono."

"Now don't cha go worryin about Scootaloo. Her mother will tell 'er...in due time." Truth be told, Applejack was frightened about how the little pegasus would react once she finally found out the truth. She didn't expect that the reaction one would have when they found out their idol- their _god- _was dead to be a positive one.

"But...But..."

"Now, you hush. Don't worry about her. Don't worry about anythin'." Applejack nestled her little sister into her arms, comforting her like she had done when the headstrong filly was just an infant. She didn't want to be where she was. She didn't want to see her sister in such a state. She didn't want a lot of things, but there were just some things that had to be done. As she cradled her sister, she started to hum a melody: It was a melody her mother had hummed to her when she was just a foal. Slowly, she eased the words into it.

"_Hush now, quiet now..."_

The filly's sobs receded once more, replaced by lingering tears and labored breaths

'_Acceptance'_

The cabbie was lucky he didn't throw his back out, with all the weight he was pulling. If the ponies he was hauling didn't look like they had deep pocket, he would have outright refused to give them a ride, for his health's sake. Rarity had told Sweetie Belle countless times that she didn't need to move all of her things into the Boutique when she was only staying over for the weekend, but the filly refused to listen. Now, due to the filly's arrogance, they were one misstep away from having to deal with a lawsuit. Sure, her parents were rich enough to afford both a good lawyer, and pay any amount of workpony's comp charged, but Rarity would feel absolutely horrible if they somehow disabled an innocent cabbie.

To make matters worse for the stallion's back, their destination was a mansion up in the Drackenridge Mountains: Her parents had built the estate on the far eastern cliffs of the mountain range, so they wouldn't have to go through the Everfree Forest each time they came to Ponyville. Unfortunately for the cabbie, whose name, according to his license, was Bickle, this meant he would have to pull his heavy cart up a winding, mountain road, and travel considerably longer than he normally went. Bailey, a fellow cabbie and Saturday night drinking buddy, had warned him about 'those unicorns who live in that frou-frou dress shop.', but he had been too busy knocking back another pint to listen. Now, Bickle wished that he had listened. He kept laboring the cart along, keeping his eyes on the prize: A generous tip.

The two unicorns in the cart rode in complete silence. Any attempts Rarity made at conversation were completely ignored by the pouting filly. She had hoped that Sweetie Belle would be over her disappointment by the time morning had rolled around, but she was just as sullen as she had been the previous night. The only time the small unicorn spoke up was so she could complain: Complain about her eggs being overcooked, complain about the speed the cab was being pulled- it was driving Rarity mad. At the moment, Sweetie Belle had just finished a heated monologue about how 'a good sister wouldn't go on vacation, when she had promised her little sister she could spend the weekend.' Rarity had made no such promise, but she let the filly vent, if only so her parents wouldn't have to deal with it. Once she was sure that her sister was done expressing her distaste for everything in the world, Rarity took lifted her head from the resting place she had created with her hoof and face. She could see windows through a break in the trees, and she gave a sigh of relief: They were almost there.

The mansion was everything one could hope to find in a mansion: Large, spacious, and surrounded by over-the-top topiary and lawn flamingos. It was as big as her parents were rich, and it was as cheesy as her parents were... well, cheesy. Rarity had always wondered where her keen sense of fashion came from, but she was sure it wasn't hereditary: Her parents, as sweet as they were, would not just be the picture beside gaudiness in the dictionary- they would be the definition itself.

As they pulled up to the gate, Bickle noticed the name on the mailbox. At first he thought he had misread it, but after doing a double-take, his thoughts were confirmed.

'_Neighmath'_

'_No way... No way!' _he could hardly contain his childlike enthusiasm.

Neighmath von Belle had been the longtime quarterback for the Manehatten Jets. He had, in his time, managed to win three Superb Bowl, before his career was cut short due to a knee injury in his prime. Bickle had heard the rumors that the hoofball Hall of Famer had taken up residence in the Ponyville area, but he had always dismissed them as far-fetched. Now, he was eating crow, staring at the mansion the famed quarterback lived in. It was as the gate opened that he realized just how valuable his cargo was. '_I have the daughters of a star, in my cart...I'm going to be rich!_" As he pulled the cart into the courtyard, visions of bits danced in his head.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle got out of the cart and walked up to the door, leaving an all-too-willing Bickle to unload the cart. Rarity didn't bother knocking, she knew the door was unlocked, and that her parents had a strict open-door policy. It was odd, and kind of stupid, considering her father's fortune and fame, but then again, that was just like her father- friendly, but a little bit on the strange side. Rarity personally believed that the oddness was the result of various hoofball head injuries, but her mother, Violet, insisted that he was always 'a bit peculiar."

If there was one thing Rarity admired about her parents most of all, it was their relationship with each other. Neighmath had been a star quarterback for one of the biggest hoofball teams in the world: He could have had any mare he set his eyes on. Yet, instead of marrying fellow celebrities, he chose to marry Violet, his high school sweetheart. Rarity thought it was absolutely adorable, and longed to have a relationship like theirs. She used to believe that marrying rich was the best thing she could do to further her career, but after being exposed to Prince Blueblood, her mind had swiftly changed: How a pony of such immense ignorance and self-centered thinking could hold such a position of power was a mystery to Rarity.

She had then gone looking for true love, a relationship built on feelings rather than gold. She thought she had found it, but that too fell out from beneath her hooves. She wanted to keep searching, but she was beginning to lose faith: It seemed like every turn she took led straight into a brick wall. She had always believed in fate and destiny, and it seemed that she was destined to grow old, alone.

As soon as they had entered the house, Sweetie Belle charged upstairs, to her bedroom, without saying 'goodbye' to her sister, or 'hello' to her parents. Such displays of disrespect offended Rarity, but she also knew that she had been just as guilty of selfishness when she was Sweetie's age. She continued down the hall, passing by countless paintings of von Belles past and present. The Saxony carpet that covered every square inch of the floor was comforting beneath her hooves: Her father insisted that they get new carpet installed once every year. Near the end of the hallway, she veered to the left, and entered the main den. As was expected, her parents were relaxing on their fancy, velvet chairs, reading their morning papers in the light of the rising sun as it shone through the giant bay window behind them.

"Mother? Father?"

The two ponies looked up at their eldest daughter as she stood in the doorway. They each gave their own little smiles, before her father invited her to take a seat in a nearby chair.

"Well! G'mornin', Rarity. I'm assuming the cab ride went well."

"Yes, although I will warn you father. I saw the look the cabbie got in his eyes when he saw the mailbox, and... Well, be prepared to sign an autograph or two."

"Oh, great. Just what I needed." he frowned

"C'mon, Neighmey... Ya know ya love the admiration." her mother said, a bit too flirtatiously, causing Rarity too shiver at the two lovebirds before her.

"Not at seven in the morning." Neighmath replied flatly, apparently completely deaf to his wife's flirting. Violet glared at him in disappointment, then turned her attention back to Rarity.

"So, how's Sweetie Belle?"

"She's...decent. She's upset that she had to come back so soon, but she'll be fine in a few hours, most likely."

"Yeah. If I offer to let her help me cook lunch, it'll cheer her right up."

"I bet." Rarity cringed at the thought of Sweetie Belle's "cooking": It had gotten better recently, but most of her forays into the kitchen still ended with burnt water and melted toast.

"Ooh, yeah. I know I'm a bit biased, but do I love Sweetie's cookin'." Neighmath was licking his lips, dreaming about burnt eggs.

"So, I'm assuming you got my letter." Rarity asked

Violet gave her a sad, motherly smile. The mood in the room was suddenly very serious.

"Yes, we did... Your father and I had been planning on going on a little trip to Manehattan this weekend, but... With what you're goin' through, Manehattan can wait."

"Most definitely," agreed Neighmath

"Thank you, both. I hate to be a burden bu-"

"Hold on, now! Rarity von Belle, you are _not_ being a burden to anypony, and I don't want you thinkin' that you are." Rarity gulped: Her father had used her full name.

"I know, father... I'm sorry, it's just-"

"You're goin' through something that, luckily, your mother and I have never had to go through. Trust us, you're not being a burden"

"Th-thank you, father. I just get so worried sometimes."

"About what?" Her mother asked

"About getting too pushy. I try my best to be generous, but sometimes I get so caught up in the moment that I turn into a selfish _foal_."

"Oh, honey... You're not a selfish foal." Her mother gently stated, placing a comforting hoof on her daughter's: Rarity just smiled- nothing else needed to be said.

"So, you're going to Whinnypeg, eh?" Her father suddenly piped in, making sure to flash his accent, "Heading up to the old von Belle trottin' grounds."

"Yes, I sure am." Rarity smiled back, absorbing some of her father's youthful, nostalgic demeanor.

Rarity had never actually been to Great Forks- her parent's hometown, but she had heard so many stories about it during her youth, that it felt like she had. According to her father, Great Forks was a small city, near the Equestria-Northern Territories border. Like Ponyville, Great Forks was a very tight knit community: Her father knew everypony, from the mayor to the milkmare ,by name, and still exchanged letters with old friends constantly. Her father had become somewhat of a local legend: Right before she had been born, the town erected a fifteen-foot tall bronze statue of her father right outside of the city hall. Her father had voiced his displeasure with the statue, complaining that it should be of him wearing his high school jersey, rather than the Manehattan Jets jersey the sculptor had chosen. "I always preferred the color scheme of my high school jersey, personally." he used to state over dinner: Considering that his high school's jerseys were tie-dyed, his preference did not surprise Rarity in the slightest.

"Are you planning on going by Great Forks, honey? It's not far out of your way."

"I'm considering it, mother. However, I'm not sure how much free time I'll have."

"Well, if ya do go by, can ya tell Joe Buck he still owes me five bits." Her father said, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"I will." Rarity chuckled.

"Um, excuse me?"

The three unicorns turned to stare at the source of the commotion: Bickle recoiled at the sudden onslaught of attention. Gathering his nerves, and kicking himself for acting like such a pansy in front of his favorite hoofball player, Bickle finally spoke.

"All of your daughter's belongings are out of the cab and in her room. Is there anything else you need, Eagle Eye?"

The three unicorns flinched simultaneously: If there was one thing that Neighmath detested more than pestiferous fans, it was pestiferous fans who called him by his old, hoofball nickname, rather than his real name.

"It's _Mr. von Belle_, and no, there won't be anything else." The former hoofball star may have lost some girth over the years, but he was still a threatening enough presence to make the earth pony cabbie tremble in fear.

"Actually, father, if I may interrupt. I do need a ride to the train station."

"Ah, yes, of course," he said, chuckling to himself, before throwing yet another glare at the jumpy earth pony, "You _can _handle getting my daughter to the train station, right?"

"Of c-c-coure, Mr. von Belle, sir. I'll have her there in ten seconds flat." The earth pony joked. However, this "joke" hit Rarity in the chest with a thundering crash. She began to feel the tears come again, and this time she couldn't hold them back. Still trying her best to be graceful in her parent's presence, she politely excused herself, before fleeing down the hallway and out the door. After the shock at her sudden outburst wore off, Violet chased after her daughter, leaving a furious unicorn and a perplexed earth pony in her wake.

It was eight in the morning: For many ponies, that was early. For Applejack, it was the equivalent of being eighty-five minutes late to a ninety-minute class- downright inexcusable. Big Macintosh was waiting for her at the highest point in Sweet Apple Acres, and he did not look pleased in the slightest.

"Ah could've bucked the whole orchard before ya'll showed up."

"Ah know, ah know..."

"Ah don't know why ah don't just destroy all the buckin' cider in this place. Help ya'll concentrate on workin' more, that's fer sure."

"Ah doubt that, Mac."

"Whaddya mean? Doubt what?"

"Ya know exactly what ah'm talkin' 'bout," she closed her eyes and lowered her head, the memories of the morning still fresh in her mind, "Look... Let's just get ta work."

Macintosh said nothing, and the two workhorses made their way down into the sea of apple trees that filled their property. Neither of them spoke much while they worked, partially out of will and partially out of habit. Not that Applejack cared to speak much, anyway. She was still beating herself up over the conversation she'd had with Apple Bloom just mere minutes before she had come out to the fields.

'_Ah know... Ah was gonna have ta tell her sooner or later... But ah really, really would have preferred later.'_

"Granny Smith spilled the beans." Applejack piped up, not expecting Macintosh to be listening.

"Wha' now?"

"She told Apple Bloom."

"Told her 'bout what?"

"'Bout Dash."

"Aw jeez."

"Well, really, ah told her, but ah wouldn't have had to if Granny hadn't brought it up." Applejack always had to be honest: It was like she literally _couldn't_ tell a complete lie.

"Horseapples... How's she holdin' up?"

"She got pretty torn up 'bout it... But, she handled it a bit better than ah'd expected. She's a tough filly."

"Eeyup... So, are ya goin' with your friends?"

Applejack halted mid-buck, and stared at her brother with arched-eyebrows, "Beg yer pardon?"

"Oh yeah...ya'll was so drunk, ya probably don't remember."

"Don't remember, what? Yer gonna have ta fill me in, Macintosh."

"Rarity 'n Fluttershy came by last night. Ya'll remember that, right?"

Applejack scrounged through the muddled memories of the previous night: She could vaguely make out the blurred images of pink and purple- images she assumed were Fluttershy and Rarity.

"Barely... I can't remember what exactly what they were here for, though."

"Well, lucky fer ya', ah could hear the two of ya'll yappin from my bedroom."

"What'd we talk about, Mac?"

"Ah heard somethin' about Whinnypeg, and then ya'll got all excited- though ah think it was the cider gettin' you excited."

Applejack ignored her brother's subtle jab at her, and began fishing for strings of conversations: Whinnypeg...What was in Whinnypeg? Where was Whinnypeg? She remembered seeing that name on a map somewhere...It was in...The Norther Territories...Why would they be wanting to go there? That area was surrounded by farmland...Farmland...Northern Territories...

She stopped: All the air fled from her lungs, and all stray minds steered clear of the shadowed, hated face that came swimming through her mind. Applejack knew that this shadow, this stallion, couldn't be what her friends had come to the farm asking about, but it provided the perfect oppurtunity. The chance to find this shadow and face him head on. The chance to hate him the way that he had hated his family.

The perfect opportunity for revenge.

"Whinnypeg? That's near Coltage La Prairie! That...That's near-"

"NO, APPLEJACK!"

She nearly fell to the ground in shock: Big Macintosh never raised his voice at her before, and after experiencing the brute force of a "Big Mac Yell", she had no intention of ever making him do it again

"Ah...Sorry, Applejack, but...Ah know you, and ah know what yer thinkin'...and ah don't like it."

"Mac...Look, ah was just thinkin' that."

"Don't think it, A.J... It ain't gonna do ya any good."

"Ah was... If ah get the chance, ah mean if ah run into him-"

"And what'll ya do then? Kill him? Burn down his farm? What, Applejack?"

"Ah... Forget 'bout it... Ah was just thinkin' too much."

"Damn right, ya were."

They continued to work in silence, both of them refusing to look each other in the eye.

"Da train leaves at nine... If ya go now, ya'll can make it."

"Huh?"

"Yer friends... They need ya right now, A.J."

"But... What... Do ya know _why _they're goin' to Whinnypeg?"

"No... But... They looked like mares on a mission last night, so it was bound ta be somethin' important. Maybe they can do somethin' fer you as well."

"But ya just said-"

"Ah said ta stay away from Citrus... Ah didn't say anythin' about not goin' ta Whinnypeg."

Applejack cringed: It was the first time that even the name of that stallion had been uttered aloud in over five years.

"Wait... Mac... Ah can't... Applebuck season starts next week."

"Ah don't think ya'll be gone a whole week."

"But what about the work 'round here."

"A.J... With the state ya've been in the last few days... Ya'll would do more harm than good if ya stayed around here."

"Ah... yer right." The reasons behind all of this were still hazier than the morning fog, but Macintosh seemed fairly convinced that she should get out of town for a few days, and Big Macintosh was always right, as much as it pained her to admit it. _'Gettin away from the memories will surely help me.' _

In the midst of her thinking, Big Macintosh had walked up behind her. He patted her on the back, and smiled.

"Don't cha come back 'till yer sober."

"No promises," She laughed, but stopped when she saw that she was the only one, "Just kidding." She added sheepishly.

"Ah'll take care of things while yer gone."

"Ya do most of the work anyway, Macintosh."

"Can't argue that. Now, get goin'.

Against her better judgement, she decided that she should attempt giving her brother a hug. To her surprise, he accepted it, although he didn't share it: Still, it was the feeling that counted, and she could feel the brotherly-warmth radiating out of her brother's heart.

"Thanks, Macintosh."

She exited the hug, and began to move down the path. She turned around when she reached the gate, and looked at her brother. She couldn't tell if he was happy, sad, or concerned: Applejack wouldn't blame him for feeling any of them.

When she got out of sight of her brother and her ranch, Applejack stopped, and took off her hat. There were two pictures stuck in the inner brim of her cowpony hat: Each one an image of a pony Applejack held near to her heart. Each one a picture of a pony Applejack could only see when she looked at the pictures. She smiled sadly, and the rainbow-maned pegasus and blonde earth pony seemed to smile back- their grins far more exuberant than Applejack's.

Granny Smith had always told her that it was dangerous to hold onto the past, but Applejack was willing to take the risk. She placed the stetson back on her head, and galloped towards the train station as fast as she could.

There are few sights in the world more painful to a parent than seeing their child heartbroken. As she stood behind her weeping daughter, Violet knew just how true that statement was- her own heart felt like it had shattered. The purple unicorn wasn't sure exactly what to do: She had dealt with Sweetie Belle in various states of despair, but this was her older daughter, her _adult_ daughter. She was positive that coaxing Rarity with candy would do nothing to stop her cries. She walked up, slowly so she wouldn't scare her, and sat down on the steps, looking at her oblivious daughter with loving eyes.

"Rarity?"

Her words were either lost underneath the younger mare's sobs, or simply ignored.

"Honey... If ya want to talk about it... I'm here for ya." The older mare's hoof was hovering above her daughter's back, unsure whether or not it should make contact.

"She...She used to say that..." Rarity choked out.

"Used to say what?"

"That she'd get things done in 'ten seconds flat'," Rarity let out a shaky laugh, "And...She was right every time. Whether it was clearing the clouds, or racing Applejack to a tree, or a fence. Even..." She shook her head, not wanting to think about it.

"Sounds like she was something."

"She was... It's a shame you never got to meet her."

"Yeah... I remember, I was in Manehattan that weekend, visiting with some of my old college friends: It was the only time you ever brought her here. Your father said she was quite a 'character'.

"She was... I... hahaha." Rarity burst into a barrage of belly laughs: Her mother watched cautiously, worried that her daughter had snapped. Eventually, the laughter subsided into a series of coughs and deep inhales. The younger mare wiped her eyes, and looked back at her mother.

"Sorry, it's just... The first thing she did was fly around the living room... She said it was the biggest room she had ever seen- aside from the ones in Castle Canterlot, of course, and she wanted to see how much 'elbow room' she had. So... She started to fly around in large circles, gaining speed, and...hehheh... She went so fast that the wind knocked Grandma Belle's urn right to the ground. It was a nightmare: Million bit urn shattered, carpet ruined, Grandma's ashes all over our coats. It was so horrible, yet so positively hilarious. We decided to blame it on Opal... And father believed us! Poor Opal. The poor dear had to sleep outside that night, and nearly froze to death."

"So, that's what happened to the urn."

"Hehheh, Yeah. Don't tell father, please?"

"Tell him what?" Her mother winked.

"Thank you, mother... I really do wish that you could have met her. She was the most selfish, and at the same time most selfless mare I've ever met. One minute she would only be focused on herself, on winning... But then... She...She would jump in front of a sword for anypony... Even you, mother... If someone were attacking you... Rainbow would take the hit... She'd...She'd always..."

"I know she would, Gemmy." Violet had chosen to give Rarity the pet name, Gemmy, after she had gotten her Cutie Mark. She only pulled out the nickname whenever she felt that she really needed a sign of admiration: a sign of love.

Rarity sighed and fixed her gaze on the sky, hoping to see a rainbow jet-stream streaking through the lovely autumn air. It was a sight that always had seemed to be there when she was feeling down: A multi-chromatic laser beam that cut through all her misfortunes and loneliness. However, as she had expected, the streak never appeared.

"If you want to stay here with your father and I, your old room is still available." Violet's motherly instincts had kicked into full gear.

"No. I think I'll pass, thank you though."

"Gemmy... Please. I can tell that you're hurting worse than ya ever have before. This isn''t something ya get over easily, and it isn't something ya get over on your own."

"Mom... My friends need me right now."

"Yes, but what does running off to Whinnypeg solve? Sound like you're trying run from your problems."

"No, there is a reason. Twilight thinks that she may have found Rainbow Dash's father."

"Father?"

"I know, I'm just as surprised as you are, and personally, I have my doubts. To be quite frank, I believe that this stallion we're searching for is a drug-addicted, deadbeat, who either doesn't remember that he has a daughter, or could care less about her."

"If you have such doubts, then why are you going along with this wild-goose chase?"

"Because, if there's one thing I, or any of my friends, need right now: It's loyalty."

Violet could feel the tears of her own welling in her eyes. Her daughter's words had struck a chord that she had never heard, or felt, before. Rarity had buried her head into her mother's side, but she had long since stopped shaking: The sadness was still there, the sadness would always still be there, but she had a drive: She had a legacy to carry on, even if it meant doing stuff she would normally consider 'absurd'.

"Nothing I say is going to change your mind, is it?"

The indigo-maned mare shook her head.

"You're still going to go with them, regardless?"

She nodded.

Violet let out a heavy sigh. She was worried sick about her daughter: It was clear that Rarity was going through depression, and it was also clear that she was in a very deep-stage of it. Truth be told, she wanted Rarity to run away from her problems. She wanted nothing more than to make her stay at their home: To spend a month or two in their mansion, like she had as a filly, with only her parents, sister, and cat to keep her company. She'd be far away from Ponyville, long enough to heal: Sure, there would always be scars, but at least she wouldn't be bleeding profusely.

However, she also _knew_ her daughter: She knew how headstrong Rarity could be, and she knew that when she got her mind set on something, like being loyal to her friends, she would go to the ends of the Earth to accomplish that goal: '_I guess that Rainbow Dash really did wear off on her'_, Violet thought, remembering the countless descriptions of the illusive pegasus' determination she had read in Rarity's letters.

The door opened up behind them, and an earth pony scampered out of it like a mouse getting chased by a cat. He nearly tripped over the two unicorns sitting on the steps to the mansion, and then proceeded to fall down said steps, landing directly on his snout. He was barely on the ground a second before he shot back up and ran to his wagon, ignoring the throbbing of his sore nose. Neighmath stood in the doorway, scowling at the shell-shocked cabbie. The mares stared at the cabbie, then the lumbering unicorn, and the back at the cabbie: They didn't know what had happened while they were outside, but they were positive that it was nothing pretty.

"Well, I suppose I better get going before we end up with a dead cabbie on our hooves. Celestia knows, even the best lawyers could not protect father from that lawsuit."

"Yep."

The mother and daughter rose to their feet, and looked at each other: One set of eyes shone with pain, and the other with pain due to the other's pain. Violet wanted to hold her daughter in her forelegs forever, to rock her to sleep like she had done before three diamonds had graced her flank. She just wanted to be able to tell Rarity that it would be okay, and know that her assurances were the truth. However, Violet knew that she would never understand her daughter's pain until she had walked a mile in her shoes. She had read countless books and stories about the things her daughter was going through, and none of them seemed to live up to the cold truth: Rarity wasn't tearing the house apart in grief, or standing on the ledge of an office building- she hadn't even cried before a few minutes ago. She simply hurt to the point of numbness.

"I'll be back in a few days."

"Alright, be safe, Gemmy."

"I will, Mom."

With one final wave to her parents, Rarity climbed into the cart, and was pulled out of the courtyard, down the road, and out of her parent's eyes. As soon as the coast was clear, Violet collapsed into her husband's arms, and wept.

"...And then the jackass hits me with the fire poker. You're lucky he autographed my cap, or you and your family would be bucked six ways from Sunday..."

Rarity was unsure how long the cabbie had been ranting, nor did she care: He'd just been saying the same things over and over again. If there were anypony who should be worrying about being sued, it was him. If she missed the train, she would make sure that the earth pony never pulled a cab again. Hunting for a distraction, she reached into her saddlebags and began to rummage around. She was looking for a book to pass the time with, what she pulled out made time stop.

It was a locket: Shaped like a heart, and encrusted with the finest gold in Equestria. There were six diamonds that surrounded the locket, each one a different color: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. She opened it up, and stared at the picture within it, a melancholic smile tugging at her lips.

Rainbow Dash beamed back at her.


	4. Chapter 4

A light gust of wind assaulted Fluttershy, blowing her twenty yards off course. She blushed in embarrassment, even though there were no ponies around to witness her lackluster flying abilities. With the valiant effort of every bone and muscle in her body, she was able to get back on course, and continue flying towards the cloud-manor that was just starting to become visible on the horizon- a tiny white dot against a cerulean backdrop. As she flew, she kicked herself for being so weak- something that had become a regular occurrence, of late

Unbeknownst to her friends, Fluttershy actually _wanted _to be a good flier. In her younger years, she had been just as obsessed with the Wonderbolts as Rainbow Dash had been. Her father had been one of the more gifted fliers in Cloudsdale: He had even been given the chance to audition for the stunt team, but couldn't make it past the medical examinations. A bum knee he had received in a stunt accident when he was still in Flight School killed his chances at becoming a member of the illustrious squad. Still, even with his disability, her father had spent twenty-two years as a member of the Cloudsdale Emergency Rescue Squad: He had retired as captain, and had even been inducted into the Cloudsdale Hall of Fame. They were big shoes for the shy pegasus to fill, and unfortunately, one did not gain skill through heredity.

Throughout flight school, Fluttershy had moved from mentor-to-mentor, tutor-to-tutor, doing everything in her power to improve her skills. She had even let Rainbow Dash try to tutor her, but she couldn't keep up with the speedy pegasus- and Rainbow had no intentions of slowing down so she could catch up. Sure, the two had become friends despite the failed sessions, but, to Fluttershy, that made it worse: She wanted to be able to fly beside her friend to the ends of the Earth itself, but because of her weak wings, that desire was unquenchable.

As she got closer to the cloud-manor, it became clearer. She could make out the curvature of the clouds as they twisted to form the many pillars that surrounded the fluffy structure. The ripples that formed on the surface of the liquid rainbow ponds sung soft lullabies to the tired clouds that formed the foundation of the house. As she arrived, she landed a considerable distance from the door: Landing right at the entrance would be quicker, but she enjoyed walking the long, winding path up to the front door. It gave her time to absorb the beauty of the cloud-house and the wonders surrounding it.

Her hooves gently met the clouds, and she was instantaneously doused in heavy shadows. While the sudden shade was a welcome relief for her perspiring, exhausted body, Fluttershy couldn't help but be intimidated by the looming presence of the exorbitant structure. The house was three stories tall, slender, and made to look like an ancient temple. Fluttershy had once asked Rainbow Dash why she owned such a large, extravagant house when she lived all by herself, and couldn't have possibly owned enough things to need the extra space for storage. Rainbow had just laughed and said, _"'cause it's awesome."_

When she opened the door, Fluttershy was met with a sight she still had not grown used to seeing: Darkness- darkness and silence. There were no working lights or candles in the house- Rainbow had always relied on the Sun and Moon to provide her with a sufficient amount of light. However, due to the cloudy morning, the rays of light the Sun usually provided only shone on the house in random intervals- never staying long enough to brighten up the dreary aura. The pressure of the hollow residence gave Fluttershy an uneasy feeling: Lot's of things made her uneasy, but this moment was particularly significant.

To make matters worse, they had started cleaning up the place. Boxes full of comic books, trophies, and other miscellaneous items lined the walls of the den. The walls, which had once been covered with Wonderbolts posters, were stripped bare. What bothered Fluttershy the most was that the floors were completely spotless: She had boarded with Dash for two semesters in flight school, and Rainbow's side of their dorm had been covered with junk the entire time. It just seemed wrong, being able to actually see the floor that her friend used to walk on.

There were two pieces of non-cloud furniture in the den: Both of them tables. It would not have surprised Fluttershy if the tables were the _most expensive_ things in the entire house- enchanting normal, wooden furniture so it could be placed on clouds was a notoriously costly process. She wandered over to the larger of the two tables, treading cautiously to avoid accidentally stepping in one of the boxes. '_Who knows what sharp objects could be in them._' Fluttershy shuddered at the thought.

From the green, felt top, to the dark stains of long-forgotten drinks, it was obvious that the large table had, at one point, been used for card games. Now it was the substitute "ground" for a tortoise who lived in the clouds. Rainbow had made sure that Tank got the best: The best pet house she could afford, open space for him to slowly meander in, and even a miniature "pool" for the tortoise to swim in if he desired. Sure, the pool wasn't even big enough for Tank to fit his whole body in it, but it was the thought that counted.

As she drew closer, she saw a green head shoot back into the house. Tank had briefly emerged from his home to see who had entered the house: Once he saw that it was not his master, he submerged back into his shell to get forty winks. _'Like master, like pet.'_ Fluttershy thought as she observed the now-sleeping tortoise, a loud snore resonating from deep within the interior of the shell. Tank was in such a deep state of sleep that Fluttershy didn't want to wake him. _'He looks so peaceful.' _she mused, nostalgic images of a rainbow-maned pegasus passed out on a cloud flashing before her eyes.

Unfortunately, the tranquil moment couldn't last forever. The train was leaving in two hours, and Fluttershy still needed to find somepony to look after her animals while she was away. She gingerly scooped up the sleeping tortoise and placed him on her back. She felt guilty about what she was doing- she was practically taking Tank away from his home- but, at the same time, if she left him in the manor, he would starve. For most ponies a decision between life and death was an easy one: For Fluttershy the lines were far more blurred: She was the Element of Kindness, but would it be _kind_ to take a pet away from their home, if their life depended on it? She wanted the answer to be a resounding "yes", but, as was always the case, her mind was filled with doubts.

'_What if they prefer being left alone? I know it's a silly thing to think, but... What if Tank is happier here than he would be at my cottage? Would it be 'kind' for __**me **__to make __**his**__ decisions?'_

Fluttershy's inner struggle with anxiety was suddenly halted by a gentle stroking near the base of her wing. She turned her head, and saw that Tank had let his right foreleg emerge from the shell: His scaly foot was gently place on her wing, and he was gently caressing the shy mare's ruffled feathers. Fluttershy could still make out the sound of snoring, but it was far more subdued than it had been a few moments before. She was shocked: Even when he had been living at her cottage, he had never been so _loving_. It was almost as if he thought she was... Fluttershy felt her heart begin to beat against her ribcage: Theories she longed to be proven wrong echoed in her ears. The walls were beginning to close in on her again. She had to get out of the house, and away from the memories, before her wings decided that they didn't want to work anymore. With a flash, she was out the door and halfway to her cottage.

"_Could I have some more punch?"_

"No, Mr. Turnip. You've already had two glasses."

"_Yeah, so?"_

"So, you should save some for Rainbow Dash."

"_Are ya kiddin' me? No way she's gonna show up."_

"Rocky! That's an awfully rude thing to say. Dashie will be here. It is _her_ party, after all."

"_Why should zat matter? If memory serves correct, zat chienne loves to break ze hearts."_

"That's not true, Madame Laflour!"

"_I concur, Madame Laflour. That pegasus has never been anything but trouble."_

"No, Sir Lintsalot. Honestly, where are all of you getting these crazy ideas from."

"_From you, of course!" _

Every crack in every wall seemed to scream at Pinkie: The terrorizing vocalizations of those whom possessed neither lungs, nor mouths, seeped into every cavity and joint of her trembling body. For two days it had been the same routine: Wake up, let her mind wander to the deepest depths of darkness, emerge for a few seconds to seem 'normal', and then submerge back into the brimstone lakes. To make matters worse, she could feel her subconscious beginning to adapt to her ploys: Slipping out of her mind's grip was growing harder with each passing day, and she feared that she would soon be unable to escape. Her mouth was growing smaller, and her desire to scream was escalating.

The inanimate objects that had been placed around Sugarcube Corner's main dining table bobbed, bounced, and bellowed at the limp, pink mare. They were cursing the name 'Rainbow Dash', and violently spitting on every image of the cyan pegasus that Pinkie's mind could conjure up. The strangest thing about all of it, was that it felt like their saliva was hitting Pinkie: It felt like they were yelling at her. '_Why would they be yelling at me? If anybody is the victim here, it's me.'_

If there was one thing she could be thankful for, it was that none of her friends were around to see her in such a state. They had seen her in a similar, dark place, when there "surprise party" for the party pony led to a long series of misunderstandings, and eventually ended with Pinkie having a breakdown. She had long considered the "surprise party incident" to be the worst moment of her life: The moment where the only laughter was that of nervous fear. However, when compared to the feelings she was currently feeling, that dark birthday was Hearth's Warming Eve. If any of her friends could see her at the moment, there would be no laughter of any kind- just screams of fear.

The needle in her cerebellum skipped, and the vinyl record made a horrendous screeching sound. The track jumped to memories she had hoped she had deleted: She watched them play out, once more- eyes wide and dreary.

_The rain..._

_The wind..._

_The body..._

"No, Pinkie...Stop...It's just a dream."

She had been whispering those gentle reassurances for an eternity, and they had yet to come true. Her voice never carried anything but a doubtful tone, and the world around her never changed. All the evidence pointed to her being awake, but she just couldn't accept: Things like _death_ don't really happen... right? Not in Ponyville. Not in Equestria.

Not to her.

She repeated her mantra through gritted teeth and clenched eyes. Pink hooves covered pink ears in a futile attempt to silence the chanting. She giggled, and giggled, and giggled some more- but, the banshees kept wailing.

"_You killed her, Pinkie!"_

"Ha...ha...ha"

"_You killed her."_

"Ha. Ha. Ha."

"_Just because she didn't love you!"_

"HAHAHA!"

"_..."_

She lowered her hooves from her ears, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the taunting had seized. The pile of rocks that had been lunging at her mere moments before, now sat idly on the stool, as lifeless as a pile of rocks should be. Sugarcube Corner was eerily quiet, as was it's proprietor. She stared at the cake in the middle of the table, waiting for it to suddenly grow limbs and start attacking her. After a brief staring contest with the pastry, Pinkie let herself loosen up, and slumped back in her stool, sighing in relief. This was supposed to be the best party of her life, and she was beginning to worry that her inner-demons would keep it from happening. Luckily for the pink mare, the storm appeared to have passed: She could party in temporary peace.

The whole room had been set up for the indefinitely delayed party: Streamers, balloons, cakes, and party blowers. Every party was important to Pinkie, from one of her friends' birthdays, to the party she would throw after the first rain of a month. Sure, it took a lot of effort to make each one of them perfect, but Pinkie would take each one of them on with an intense flood of joy and an arsenal of sugar-coated goods. However, this particular party was going to be the piece de resistance- a magnum opus of streamers and laughter.

Her blue eyes looked up at the banner she had hung over the table. It was flashy, colorful and larger-than-life, much like the pegasus it had been made for. Pinkie had made the banner three years before for one purpose: A party that always seemed to end before it could begin. She had tried countless times to get her to come over to Sugarcube Corner for a few minutes, to try a "new recipie", or plan "the best prank yet". The pegasus had always been to busy, but Pinkie was determined: She knew that _one day_ the pegasus would show up for the party, and on that day, everything would be complete.

'_It can never be complete...'_

Pinkie Pie shook her head. She wouldn't listen to the voice. She _couldn't_ listen to the voice. This was her moment. She looked up at the banner once more, and wished that, someday, it would be read by the mare it had been intended for. Sadly, it didn't seem like that day would be this day. She let out a dismal sigh, and returned to the table: She had a lot of cleaning up to do. Her thoughts were so focused on sweeping up the confetti that littered the wooden floors, that she didn't notice that a second presence had entered the room, until it finally spoke up.

"Hiya, Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie did a double-take. She rubbed her eyes, and looked back at the figure standing before her. _'No, it can't be...' _She shook her head, hoping to clear her mind of the damning image. When she reopened her eyes, the figure was still standing there, eyebrow raised in confussion.

"Uhh, Pinkie... Ya alright?

The pink mare responded in her own way: Not with words, but with actions. In the blink of an eye she had her forelegs wrapped around the pegasus.

"Dashie..."

"...and that should be it."

"Well, this won't be that hard. Just make sure each animal is fed, and kept in the yard."

"Yeah, that's pretty much all you have to do. Thank you for agreeing to watch my animals while I'm gone, Zecora. I was beginning to think that no one would."

"For a friend like you, I would do anything-"

A carrot smacked her on the side of the head. She scowled at the scowling rabbit

"However, this bunny's neck, I may wring."

"Yeah, he's not a big fan of strangers," Fluttershy giggled.

"I can see that...llittle rat." The staring contest drug on.

Seeing that she had no part in the battle of wills, Fluttershy excused herself from the conversation. She loved Angel, but he could be the most stubborn bunny at times: She had held onto the hope that he would treat Zecora better than he had others, mainly because she was older than Fluttershy's usual house-sitters. In typical, Angel Bunny fashion, he had decided that he disliked the zebra right off the spot, and immediately began his bouts of pouting and misplaced vehemence. '_Some days, I just don't know what to do with him,_' Fluttershy thought as she walked over to the small bookcase she kept in her den.

Fluttershy wouldn't call herself a 'reader', but she did own a fair share of books. Most of them were on animal behavior and animal car, but she did embark on a journey into the occasional romance novel. The good thing about having a bookcase, to Fluttershy, was that it was full of distractions: Full of things she could act like she was invested in when she wanted nothing to do with social interactions. Whenever two of her friends got into an argument, she would immediatly pull out a book, and begin to "read" it, so they wouldn't ask her what_she _thought. She scanned the titles, looking for the most convincing decoy.

'_Bear Massages: A Foal's Guide...My First First Aid Book... Cloud-.'_

Her hoof froze over the tall, thin, cerulean book spine. It was a book she hadn't looked at in a decade, and to be quite honest, she didn't want to look at it now. She knew that the mere sight of the cover would do nothing to help her healing, but there was still a nostalgic voice in the back of her head, pleading her to open it. After a brief debate, she decided that she might as well take a look at it. She pulled the book out of it's resting place, and carried it over to her couch. She flopped down on the linen sofa, and stared at the cover, wondering whether she should open it or not.

_Cloudsdale Flight School: 990_

It was the last yearbook that Fluttershy had gotten before she had quit flight school. Her decision to dropout had not been well-received by her father, but her calling was elsewhere: She couldn't take care of land animals from the clouds, could she? Still, despite the many debacles that occured during that single year in flight school, it was one of her best. She had earned her cutie mark, found out what she was meant to be (even if it wasn't flying related), and had even met her oldest friend. She opened the dusty cover, releasing a wave of bittersweet memories.

Being the shy pegasus that she was, Fluttershy was barely even a face in the crowd at the school, and the yearbook reflected that. According to the table of contents, Fluttershy was only in three pictures, and she couldn't even see herself in the large group shot of her graduating class. She flipped to the fifteenth page- the first one that contained her picture- and her mind was jolted by grey memories, both recent and distant:

_**The Junior Rescuers**__._

"_Dash, look at me!"_

_**Back Row (L to R): **_

"_No! Don't you close your eyes. Keep looking at me, Rainbow. You'll be okay."_

_**Fluttershy P. Skimmer**_

"_Breathe...C'mon Dash...Breathe."_

A yellow pegasus timidly looked at the camera, head bowed: Her lips parted in nervousness, and her braces visible underneath.

"_Sweet Celestia, she's losing a lot of blood. We've gotta get her to the hospital! Now!_

_**Front Row (L to R):**_

"_Stay with me, Rainbow. Just keep breathing."_

_**Rainbow Dash**_

"_RAINBOW!" _

"...And I wanted to make each layer of the cake, like, the exact order of the colors of your mane. But, then I realized that, duh, your mane is _sideways_. How can I know which direction would be the top of a cake? So, I decided that I should put the violet on top, because honestly, who wants the largest part of their cake to be all gloomy-woomy."

"Sounds like you put a lot of effort into all this."

"Of course I did, Dashie. Auntie Pinkie never goes halfway! Especially when it comes to parties."

Pinkie had been touring Rainbow Dash around Sugarcube Corner, showing off the extravagant party to it's only intended guest, and congratulating herself for being patient with the cyan pegasus. Sure, a few of Rainbow's excuses for not making it had seemed phony, but that didn't matter anymore. Even if they had been lies, they were in the past: Rainbow was at the party _now_, and that was all that mattered. Pinkie led the mare over to the table, and let her sit, before taking a seat herself, on the opposite side.

"So, what do ya think, Dashie?"

"Well...It's definitely _some_ party."

"Thanks, Dashie. I worked super-extra-awesomely hard on this one."

"...I can tell."

"Oh... you... you don't seem that excited." Pinkie's hair sagged.

"No, no... I like it... its just... I don't know, it seems a bit much, don't ya think?"

"But...But, I thought you wanted my parties to be 'awesome'. You said you w-wanted them to be 'awesome'.

"And it is awesome, Pinkie... It's...It's just... ugh, how do I say this. I don't know, it just looks like you're about to propose to me or something."

"Funny you should mention that, Dashie."

"Uh, Pinkie?"

Pinkie didn't hear Rainbow's question, she was too busy making sure she got up in the most seductive way possible. Dash looked on with a raised eyebrow. Pinkie assumed that she wasn't getting through to her, so she decided to add in some sultry dialogues.

"You see, Dashie. There's a reason I throw these parties. They keep me going...keep me hot..."

"Pinkie, stop, I."

"...And, there's a reason why this one's a little bit spicier than usual. It is a party for a rainbow, after all..." Pinkie's muzzle was hovering mere inches from Dash's.

"Pinkie..."

"...You know what rainbows mean, don't you? They mean..."

"Pinkie, stop. I mean it." Pinkie's right foreleg had lifted off the floor, and her hoof was now placed on Rainbow's chest, stroking the cyan fur.

"...love." she made sure to draw out the word as long as she could.

Rainbow Dash shot out of the chair, making Pinkie fall flat on her face. The pink earth pony looked up at the hovering pegasus, both of their faces reflecting shock.

"Dashie...what.."

"Stop, Pinkie. Please...Just stop it."

"But... Dashie..."

"No. Pinkie. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"I...I"

Pinkie stopped: She couldn't think of anything to say. Her lips were moving, and her eyes were locking onto Dash's, but she was to broken to talk. In her mind, she had concluded that the party would be the final cog: The final piece that turned the pegasus' heart on for the pink mare. Instead, it seemed to have turned into more of the same: Awkward conversations rife with stuttering, and dreams crushed like cupcakes under an elephant's foot.

Rainbow Dash had landed, and while she was looking at Pinkie sympathetically, she was leaned back, as if afraid the pink earth pony would pounce her. Of course, if given the opportunity, Pinkie would pounce on Dash: She would pounce on the rainbow-maned pegasus and kiss her as hard as she could. Instead, Pinkie just laid on the sweet-stained floor, refusing to let her tear-soaked iris' meet the source of their pain.

"Pinkie...I'm sorry"

"Yeah, right. I bet you love this."

"No, I don't. Why would you even think that?"

"You just egg me on. Drop all these hints. And then you crush me."

"That's not true at all."

"Then why don't you love me back?"

"I..." Rainbow Dash was at a loss for words. This pause did nothing to calm the building storm within Pinkie Pie.

"What is it, huh? What is _so _wrong with me that it makes you hate me!"

"I... ugh, this is getting ridiculous."

"Oh, ridiculous is it? As ridiculous as you going out with buckin' Rarity?"

"That has nothing to do with anything, Pinkie."

"It has everything to do with _everything_!"

_The rain..._

"Look... I'm sorry, Pinkie. Please, will you just-"

"No! Either love me, or get away from me!"

"Pinkie, you know I can't-"

A pink hoof struck cyan cheek, hard

_The wind..._

Pinkie's eyes went wide in horror as blood started to cascade out of Rainbow's nose, then her mouth, then her eyes. The pegasus fell to the ground and started to thrash about, the sound of bones breaking filling the air with each jolt. The pink earth pony stood by, helplessly- crying and pleading for Rainbow Dash to stop playing around.

"C'mon, Dashie...This...isn't funny."

The mare did stop, but so did her breathing. Pinkie stared down at her best friend, her crush, in horror.

'_Not again.'_

_The body..._

"Um, Zecora. If you don't mind, could you answer a question?"

The zebra had long since given up her attempts at calming the belligerent bunny ironically named 'Angel', and had retreated to the couch Fluttershy was sitting on. The pegasus did nothing to acknowledge the zebra's sudden presence, choosing to continue staring at the yearbook. Zecora, being a bit curious, had looked over the pegasus' shoulder to see what she was looking at it. She saw that the picture had Rainbow Dash in it, and looked away instantly. Zecora didn't know much about 'ponyfolk', but she did know that, when they were grieveing, they should be left alone. She knew about what had happened to Rainbow, she knew how Fluttershy and Rainbow had been friends since they were fillies, and she knew a sad stare wehn she saw it, but she didn't want to hinder the pink-maned pegasus by impeding on her natural actions. Zecora had been busy investing herself in the _Ponyville Tribune_'s crossword puzzle when the pegasus had asked the question.

"Go ahead, my friend. Ask your question, and the answers I'll send."

"What do you know about... um... the 'dead'.

Zecora looked down at the pegasus, suspicious of the reasoning behind such questions.

"What is it you want to know?"

"Um...Nothing...Just...eep..."

"You weren't going to ask me if I knew how to raise the dead, were you? That question is an old and frequent one, but also one with no virtue. I've seen many creatures try to refill lives mold, only to get covered in reality, and lose all hold. It's a journey that eats away at the mind. Veer clear of it, my friend. Your soul is far too kind."

"Oh... I wasn't...going to ask you that...I...well, Twilight told me that we can't bring them back, so...I know that much... What I wanted to, uh, know, was... Can I talk to them? The dead, that is."

"What about? Whisper or shout? Separate or immerse? A blessing or a curse? This is a very vague question, dear Fluttershy. I must ask you, why?

Fluttershy's mind was dragged back to flight school, reeled in by the Junior Rescuers, and clenched by the incident. She didn't want to answer specifically, but, judging by the zebra's gaze, she knew she wasn't going to get away with vagueness either. She sighed and gave the simplest answer she could.

"To apologize."

Zecora wanted to push the pegasus on: Find out what she wanted to apologize about, or even who she planned to apologize to. However, a voice in the back of her striped head told her that she should let Fluttershy keep those details secret. It was rather obvious who the shy mare planned to apologize to, but why she wanted to was a subject far too personal for Zecora to know. Instead of plunging farther down, the zebra surfaced, eyes gleaming with understanding.

"Where do you journey this morning?"

"Umm...Whinnypeg."

"Whinnypeg. I don't know many who come from there. The zebra population is noticeably bare. However, I do have someone you should go see. She works out of the woods around the city, just look for crooked trees."

"So... you're saying I can do it. Um, that I can talk to them, that is."

"I do not fully know the answer to that question. But, if you want to find out, find this doe ,and make an impression."

Fluttershy nodded in her own, minuscule-yet-powerful way, and looked back at the yearbook. She was lost in deep thought, leaving Zecora alone with her own thoughts. She had only heard about the deer in the woods outside of Whinnypeg once, and that was from a traveling merchant that had been selling snake oil. Still, it was obvious that something was bothering the yellow pegasus, and Zecora was willing to do anything to make her feel better again. Even if the 'Deer of the Wilds' wound up being just a hoax, at least the journey would provide Fluttershy with some sense of closure.

Without warning, the pegasus ripped the page out of the yearbook, placing the torn paper underneath her wing. She then stood up and headed towards the door, scooping up her saddlebags and a still-sleeping Tank up as she walked past. Her pace stalled at the door, and she turned around, smiling gently at the zebra.

"Well, I guess I better get going. Thanks for everything, Zecora."

"It's no problem, Fluttershy."

"And you be good for mommy, Angel."

The bunny simply scowled.

"He'll be nicer once he gets his carrots." Fluttershy nervously laughed.

Angel was not amused.

Fluttershy sighed, gave Zecora an apologetic look, another smile, and took off towards Ponyville, choosing to walk rather than fly. There was a brief silence, and then a carrot clocked the zero right in the kisser. The last thing Fluttershy saw, as she looked over her shoulder, was a yelling zebra chasing after a scampering rabbit. She gave the display a silent giggle, the tremors of her back briefly seizing Tank's snoring. She smiled at the shell, and lifted her wing slightly, adjusting his position on her back. Under the other wing, she carried the torn out picture from the yearbook: She refused to acknowledge it, but she made sure she remembered it was there. The time to look at the picture, the time to truly remember, would come in due time.

She just wasn't ready for it.

"Pinkie! PINKIE!"

Spike slammed his face into the wooden door in frustration. He had been knocking on it for the past five minutes, and Pinkie still hadn't answered. He wished that Twilight were there, at least then he'd have somepony around who could force open locks with magic: Sure, using magic to open locks was a crime, punishable by jail time, and there was no way he could Twilight to commit such a heinous act, but at least then he would have the option. Now he was stuck, staring at a doorknob and waiting for it to turn.

As he had first approached the door, he thought he could hear a cry emitting from deep within the bakery, but it never came again. In a way, Spike wished that it had come again: That would give him the excuse to bust into the bakery to get the pink mare who was more-than-likely simply ignoring his knocks and calls. However, now silence reigned supreme, and Spike was getting a little worried: Pinkie Pie had been acting strange over the past few days, even by Pinkie-Pie standards. The behavioral change was to be expected, but that was what worried Spike. To him, Pinkie Pie had always been volatile party pony, prone to bouts of depression. Now, with her partner-in-crime and best friend gone, it wouldn't surprise Spike if the first thing he saw when he opened the door was a pink mare, swinging from the ceiling , with a rope tied tightly around her neck. It was a disturbing thought, but a realistic one.

He jiggled the doorknob, and it turned. He let out a frustrated sight, aimed entirely at his ignorance, and walked through the door. Sugarcube Corner was pitch black, aside from the occasional ray of sunlight that would sneak it's way through the drawn curtains that covered the windows. It was just enough light to reflect off of a sea of balloons, casting the room in the eerie glow of colored plastic. In the shadows he could make out the remnants of a party, but no party maker. Spike gulped, and his eyes started searching the beams for any sign of rope or pony. He let out a relieved exhale when he found them to be bare. Then he heard it, a whimper, just off to his left. He knew who the source of the noise was, and he knew what he was going to see when he turned his head.

That didn't make it any easier.

Pinkie was huddled in the center of the main room, shaking and mumbling. '_Jeez louise. Twilight told me she was bad, but I didn't expect her to be this bad,' _Spike thought as he slowly crept on the quivering figure. He tapped her on the shoulder, and retreated quickly: He had heard how violent a depressed Pinkie Pie could be, and he wanted nothing to do with being sat on. When he tapped her, she seized her shaking: She didn't turn around, or even acknowledge his presence. Stil, she had stopped shaking, which to Spike, was a good sign. He looked at the cake-shaped clock on the wall, and noticed that the large hand was beginning to get dangerously close to the twelve.

"Uh, Pinkie"

"Huh?" Pinkie's voice was weak and ragged. She turned her head and looked at the dragon through tired eyes: Her mane was completely straight, just like Twilight had said it had been during the failed attempt at a surprise party. However, unlike at the party, Pinkie didn't seem to be angry or hostile.

"Uh, Twilight told me to come by and get you."

"Why would she want to do that?" Despite being a question, the pink mare's words lacked any sense of interest in being answered.

"Well, we've got a train to catch. Remember? Twilight came by and asked you if you wanted to come with us, and you said you did."

"Oh...yeah."

"Is something bothering you, Pinkie?" Spike flinched as soon as the words left his mouth. _'Of course something was bothering her! Her best friend's dead, you dumbass!_' His inner-voice roared.

"...Nothing, Spike...It's nothing." Spike wasn't convinced, but they were short on time: Explanations could be made once they were on the train.

"Okay, well we've got, like, ten minutes to get to the train station, so we better get moving."

"Oh...okay." Pinkie mumbled, her mind seemingly absent from the real world. She slowly stood and began to walk out the door, ignoring the dragon's inquisitive look.

"Aren't you going to take some saddlebags, or something. We're going to be gone for at least three days?"

"Where I'm goin'...I won't need saddlebags."

Before Spike could ask any further questions, the pink mare was out the door and heading towards the Ponyville Train Station at a brisk pace. The little dragon had to sprint after the pink earth pony just to keep her in his sight line. He was putting so much effort into keeping up with her that he didn't even notice that Pinkie was constantly looking up at the sky, an expression of pure fear on her face.

Rainbow Dash hoverd above Pinkie Pie, her bloody, broken body always in the pink pony's sight- even when she closed her eyes, Rainbow was still there. Rose eyes burned into the earth pony's soul. The cracking voice of the pegasus kept repeating the same word over and over again: Each utterance attacking Pinkie from all directions, at all volumes.

"_Murderer..._


	5. Chapter 5

The morning air was surprisingly brisk for late-summer, and Twilight found the cup of coffee she had gotten to simply keep herself awake, had turned into a rather useful heating device. After each sip, she would rest the cup on her chest, clutching it tightly in her telekinetic grip, so it could warm up her cold coat. She had risen at six o'clock in the morning, having had a constant battle with insomnia throughout the night. All in all, she had gotten about an hour's worth of sleep during the night, and she knew that, despite her sagging eyes and slumping head, she wasn't going to be getting much more sleep anytime soon. Each time she closed her eyes, and let her mind wander free, her mind attacked her like a rabid lion-weighing down on her chest and mauling any semblance of sanity. To the east, Celestia's sun was almost clear of the distant mountain's obstruction, sending bright aura's of red and orange across the morning sky. At several points, Twilight had gotten nervous that her friends weren't going to show up, but then she would look at Ponyville's clock tower, and see that there was still plenty of time: The train up north hadn't even arrived yet, and she was already getting nervous about tardiness.

'_I thought you learned your lesson last time, Twilight,' _She mentally muttered to herself, flinching at the mental sight of an old, moldy doll and a stampede of brainwashed mares. She was under enough stress already: She didn't need pointless worries about days and moments long past occupying her mind as well.

Still, her nervousness got the better of her, and she wound up looking at the old clock tower once more. '_8:15... They should start showing up soon... I hope,' _She didn't want to panic- she knew she shouldn't panic- but, she was beginning to panic:

'_What if they just said they were going with me to make me feel better? I mean, I know I may not have expressed my reasons clearly... I would have taken them with a grain of salt, as well... But, still... I don't want to do this alone... I can't do this alone...'_

She was drawn out of her mental woe by a loud whistle. She stopped, and closed her eyes, more apparitions of worry possessing her mind. '_No... Not this early!' _Her worries screamed out in unanswered pleas. She looked down the track, and could see the distant rise of smoke from an unseen smokestack. The train was still far enough away that it was hidden by trees, but Twilight knew it was drawing close- too close, too soon. She was on the verge of snapping, every single occurrence seemed to be a gallon of lighter fluid being poured on her mental inferno. In her brief panic attack, she had gripped her coffee too tight, and the cup was now scrunched, the hot liquid spilt on the ground like a Rorschach test: If she took the time to analyze the lines of spilt coffee, she would have been able to make out patterns, and each one of those patterns would be ticking clocks.

The roads of Ponyville were quiet, save for the occasional merchant or mailmare. Twilight didn't see any of her friends amongst the sparse amount of ponies, making her anxiety reach it's boiling point. Looking back down the track, her purple eyes were blinded by the reflection of light off of an impending iron giant, blazing down the steel rails with the tenacity of a tortoise in a flying race. Twilight had to force her eyes away from the oncoming locomotive, searching for some sort of object to focus on- a distraction to draw her attention away from imminent stress.

She found it in the form of two ponies standing near a pastry stand. They stood out from the crowd, mainly because they were the only crowd: Every other pony Twilight could see was completely solitary, devoid of a traveling partner. The tall, brown earth pony stood at the stand, ordering two muffins. At his feet, a younger earth pony sat recognized the filly, and rolled her eyes: Diamond Tiara, the well-known, spoiled brat of Ponyville. It came to no surprise that the tiara-wearing earth pony was complaining about something as normal as breakfast. What surprised Twilight, was the behavior of her father, Filthy Rich. She had always assumed that Diamond Tiara's rude, attention-seeking behavior, was the result of a lack of attention at home. While she was sure that Filthy Rich was a very busy stallion, and that he most likely _did_ spend more time at the office than in his luxurious mansion, it was obvious that one crucial part of her theory was false: He _did_care about his daughter.

She watched Filthy attempt to coax the griping filly into taking one of the muffins he had just purchased from the stand: Unfortunately for him, the filly was in one of _those_ moods. Diamond Tiara's mouth began to move at a rapid pace: Twilight was too far away to make out the words, but judging from the look on her face, as well as the shocked reactions of her father and the shopkeeper, it was definitely not pretty. Filthy first tried to get the tiny tyrant to seize her tirade through calm words. When those didn't work, he had to get far more aggressive. He rose his voice to such a level that Twilight could loosely make out the word, "_bunny ears"_, and didn't stop shouting until the pink filly had gone completely silent, and was cowering on the pavement.

Diamond Tiara didn't appear to speak up again, choosing instead to sulk beside her father, her head sagging as close to the ground as it could without scraping the dirty road- even in a fit of pseudo-depression, the brat could not bring herself to expose her mane to the earthy road. Filthy attempted to turn a blind eye on his pouting daughter, but his fatherly instincts won out in the end, and he immediately began apologizing. Twilight kept her eye on the two earth ponies as they walked down the street, towards the schoolhouse. Once they were out of sight, she let out a sigh. Thousands of thoughts rushed through her pounding brain.

Despite the filly's insubordination and greed, Filthy Rich seemed to genuinely love his daughter. He could probably fill the entire ocean with the sheer amount of bits he had earned over the years. With that amount of wealth, he could have simply hired servants to lug his imp of a daughter to school, and ignored her existence. Instead, he walked her to school every morning, and was always the first to volunteer to be a chaperone on field trips. How such a fiend could be the product of such a seemingly caring father confused Twilight, but it wasn't the focus of her musings.

No, Twilight was focusing on his love. Diamond Tiara had thrown a massive temper tantrum, embarrassing him in front of a possible future client, and insulted him with a heavy barrage of names and 'I hate yous', and yet he still put up with her. He was a multi-millionaire, and she was a hassle: Theoretically, they wouldn't even be able to stand near each other. But, that wasn't the case.

Her thoughts were brought back to the point of her trip: The unicorn in the photograph. Her proposition to find him had been met with a mixed reception, and Twilight was beginning to doubt her theories, herself. She had started to believe Rarity and Spike, and begun to look at the unicorn in the photograph as little more than a deadbeat. However, after witnessing the display between Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara, she had reverted back to her original hypothesis. The stallion in the picture had the same look Filthy had had on his face as the two ponies walked away from the stand, and towards the schoolhouse: Love. Plain and simple.

A loud whistle erupted behind Twilight. She had gotten so caught up in her thoughts that the train she had been worrying about mere moments before was barely a blip on her radar when it pulled into the station. She let her brain clear itself, before turning around, and walking over to the conductor.

"FIFTEEN MINUTES?"

"Yep."

"But...But the train is early!"

"And?"

"Well, shouldn't you be waiting _longer_?"

"Why should we do that? We're ahead of schedule."

"Because, my friends are going to be getting on this train, and they think it's supposed to be here at nine o'clock. They can't make the train if it leaves at eight forty-five."

"Well... If that's the case, then they should have gotten here earlier."

"But...I...Wha'...ugh, forget it."

Twilight now had a legitimate reason to panic: The train had arrived before nine, and it intended to leave before nine. Knowing her friends sense of time, or lack thereof, none of them would be there by the time the train had left. She prayed to Celestia that her friends would not be tardy for once...or that time would freeze; one or the other. She sat down on a nearby bench, and waited, unsure of what to do. Empty space quickly became her closest friend, and she couldn't take her eyes off of it. '_I shouldn't be worrying so much... It's just a trip... If it doesn't work out, then it just was not meant to be.' _She told herself: Her heart disagreed. Her hooves once again found her face, and they shared a warm embrace. The soft thud of a landing pegasus quietly echoed across the station platform- so quiet, that Twilight didn't even hear it. The purple unicorn's face reluctantly exited her hooves, begging for air to dry her watering eyes. When she lifted her eyes, she saw a streak of pink in her peripheral vision, followed by a tiny squeak.

Twilight sighed in relief as she turned to see a cowering pegasus, desperately trying to pick up a very disgruntled tortoise. Once she got the reptile back on her back, Fluttershy turned to Twilight, a look of legitimate fear shining in her teal eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I-I didn't mean to interrupt. I...I..eep."

"You're fine, Fluttershy. In fact, you're more than fine- you're early."

"That's a good thing...right?"

"Yes, it is." Twilight laughed and inhaled a breath of fresh air: At least she wouldn't be going alone.

"O-okay." Fluttershy's timidness rose Twilight's eyebrow. Fluttershy's assertiveness had increased significantly in the time she had known Twilight: Once the pink-maned pegasus had gotten comfortable with her friend's company, she had become just as talkative as any other pony (although significantly quieter). However, now, as she stood in front of Twilight, silhouetted by the rising sun, she appeared just as slumped and jittery as she had when the purple unicorn first met her. According to her books, Twilight should not have been surprised to see such reversions in the wake of a tragedy, but it still made her worry: She had grown close to Fluttershy, and she did not want to lose that friendship.

Twilight and Fluttershy stared at each other, awkward pressure growing with each passing minute. The pegasus had no interest in speaking, but that didn't stop the unicorn from attempting small talk.

"Is Rarity coming?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"What about Applejack? Did you speak to her last night?"

Fluttershy squeaked, then nodded hesitantly.

"So they _are_ coming."

"Yeah."

"Do you have any idea when they'll be here?"

"No."

"Nice sunrise this morning."

"Yes."

"Why do you have Tank with you?"

"Yes"

"Huh.. oh, forget about it."

Twilight gave up all attempts at making conversation. Using a spell, she retrieved a single ticket from thin air- gifts from Princess Celestia herself. Twilight had been a bit ambiguous with the details, but when she told the Princess that they were going to look for Rainbow's "long-lost father", she had agreed to supply the five elements (and Spike) with train tickets to Whinnypeg- free of charge. Twilight made a mental note to write a "thank-you" letter to Celestia: The Princess had done many thing to help her over the years, and Twilight still felt guilty about asking favors- even ones as seemingly minuscule as train tickets. She handed the ticket to Fluttershy, who, after a drawn-out, awkward staring contest with the piece of paper, hesitantly approached the conductor, handed him her ticket, and climbed aboard the train. Twilight stayed behind, hoping that her other friends would show up.

Unlike Fluttershy, Twilight heard Rarity before she had arrived, or rather heard the loud complaints of the stallion pulling her cab.

"...Ya know what? I never liked the Jets, anyway. I always pulled for the ."

"Oh, I'm sure my father will be absolutely torn apart when he finds that out." Twilight could hear the sarcasm shining through Rarity's words from blocks away.

"Yeah... To think I used to look up to that mule."

"Oh, woe is me... would you be quiet!"

"I'm far from done, lil' missy. Let me tell-"

"I've had quite enough of this."

In a burst of vigor that nopony thought she was capable of, Rarity hopped out of the cart, and lifted all of her belongings out of the trunk with an intense burst of magic. Bickle had halted his bickering and puling, and was staring, slack-jawed, at the unicorn as she trotted away from the cab and towards the train station- attempting to retain as much grace as she could with a year's worth of bags weighing down on her. In the midst of her multi-tasking, she was able to retrieve three bits from her coin purse, and throw them hastily over her shoulder- not caring how close they landed to the earth pony they were intended for.

She made her way up to the steps, dropped her bags, and gave Twilight a gentle hug. As always, Rarity had dressed for the occasion: She wore a yellow sundress and hat, the same outfit Twilight had seen the unicorn wear countless times before. It was not Rarity's fanciest get-up, but then again, it was not the fanciest of occasions. The white unicorn exited the hug and gave Twilight a gentle smile, looking over the purple unicorn's shoulder at the train.

"Twilight, darling. I do hope my tardiness has not caused too many problems."

"No... heh, you're actually here early. The train's just ahead of schedule."

"Well, that's just grand. The earlier we set sail, the better."

"I guess."

"Pray tell, am I the first one here?"

"No, Fluttershy got here a few minutes ago. She's already on the train."

"Splendid."

"Now, all we have to do is hope that Applejack, Spike and Pinkie get here."

"Pinkie's coming?" Rarity's regal look had been washed away, replaced by a tide of dread.

"Uh, yeah. What? Is that going to be a problem?"

"...No, not a problem at all. It's just that, with the state the poor dear has been in lately, I honestly did not expect her to be fit to travel with us."

"Well, to be fair, we've all been in a 'state' lately."

"Yes, but Pinkie _seems_ to be taking it harder than any of us." Twilight couldn't help but notice that Rarity had stopped looking at her. She had been getting more and more distant herself since Rainbow's death, and Twilight wanted to know why.

"Is everything okay, Rarity? I know you've been trying to hide it, but it's obvious that something is eating you up."

"Of course something has been 'eating me up'. Rainbow's...gone... Losing such a...good friend is never easy." Rarity's typically elegant speech was mere mumbling by the time she had reached the end of her statement. This did nothing to douse Twilight's burning desire for answers.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what? I'm simply grieving, that's all. It will play itself out eventually. It's not like I'm the only one hurting here. We are _all _upset, are we not?

"Yes, we are, but it's quite clear that there's more to your story than you're telling me."

"What? Twilight, I don't approve of you making such insinuations. Besides, my own, personal business is exactly that: My own! Now, if you'll excuse me, I do believe I have a ticket to buy."

"Don't worry about it, Rarity. Celestia provided me with six tickets." Twilight tone was far from warm and enthusiastic

"Oh...Thank you, Twilight. That's...most generous of you."

"It's nothing. Yo-"

*CRASH*

Twilight's words were cut off by the sound of a toppling baggage cart. The two unicorns turned to see a pile of luggage strewn across the platform floor, with strands of pink sticking out from between the cracks. Ten yards away, was Spike, running towards the chaos as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. Twilight sprung into action, and magically lifted the suitcases off of the pony they were covering. Once they were cleared away, she could see that the pony that had knocked them over was Pinkie- this revelation came as a surprise to nopony.

Pinkie stayed in prone position, eyes rapidly darting left-to-right, right-to-left, searching for something that Twilight and Rarity were completely unaware of. From what they could tell, the only thing that had been chasing her was Spike, and there was no way that Pinkie would be scared of Spike, but the evidence was still there: She had been fleeing from something.

"Is s-s-she gone?

"Is who gone, Pinkie?"

The earth pony lifted her head and apprehensively scanned her surroundings: There were no signs of a vengeful, deformed pegasi anywhere. This newfound knowledge did wonders for Pinkie's sanity: In an instant she was back on her feet, her mane inflating with happier feelings. She stared at Twilight for a few seconds, silently, before she began to talk.

"Hiya Twilight!" Her voice was noticeably upbeat.

"Looks like you're doing better."

"I'm super!"

"Um...Gesundheit."

"Ooh, do you think they have cake on the train? 'Cause it feels like I haven't eaten in forever! I could really use some cake right now! Of course they have cake! Why wouldn't they have cake? Who doesn't like c-"

Two pairs of blue eyes locked: Neither Pinkie, nor Rarity, spoke. Twilight sat back helplessly, and watched her two friends have a staring contest.

"Oh, so Rarity's coming." Pinkie spoke through gritted teeth, not taking her eyes off of the fashionable unicorn."

"Yes, Pinkie, she is. I'm pretty sure I told you."

The two ponies scowled at each other for what felt like seasons. Rarity was the first to break. Huffing, she scooped up her humongous litter of bags, hovered them towards the baggage car, dropped them off, and entered the train: Pinkie didn't take her eyes off of the unicorn the whole time.

"...What the hay was that about?"

"It's...It's nothing important, Twilight. Just '_mare'_ business."

"Pinkie, I'm a mare."

"But you're not a _mare."_

Twilight knew Pinkie well enough to know that pursuing the topic further would lead to nothing more than questions, headaches and frustration. Instead of further investigation, she sat back, and decided to let what happened, happen.

"Here's your ticket, Pinkie."

Twilight had to tap the pink earth pony on her head with the levitating tickets, just to get her attention. Pinkie hastily grabbed the tickets in her mouth, but stood stoically on the platform, not moving an inch closer to the train. Twilight noticed that, at some point, Spike had made it to the platform, and was now standing beside her: He was still breathing heavily, but he seemed more interested in Pinkie than oxygen. The earth pony shook her head widely, and turned back to Twilight, a smile once again finding it's way onto her pink face.

"Oki Doki Loki, Twilight. See ya on-board. Choo! choo!" Pinkie Pie bounced towards the train, one foreleg raised, mimicking a train whistle. Spike and Twilight watched her until she was out of sight, before they exchanged bewildered glances.

"She is just...so"

"Random. I know, Spike, I know."

"Actually, I was going to say mentally unstable, but random works too, I guess."

"Some days I think everypony's a bit unstable."

"Maybe. She was in 'psycho' mode when we were at Sugarcube Corner."

"Yeah... I wish I could do something about it, but it's Pinkie Pie: I don't know how much understanding I'd gain."

"Regardless, you better talk to her fast, Twilight. It's only a matter of time before she goes completely bonkers."

"I should. I should probably talk to all of them. Anyway, did you happen to spot Applejack on the way here?"

"Not even a piece of straw."

"ALL ABOARD" The ringing of the conductor's calls increased the pacing of Twilight's heart.

"What are we going to do, Spike?"

"I guess... We'll just have to go without her."

"You're right... I hate it, but you're right."

"Come on. Cheer up, Twilight. At least you've got me."

"That's why I hate that Applejack's not here. One more pony means one more reason to ignore you."

"At least I didn't take a book to prom."

"That was a nice book, Spike... Ooh, you got me this time. Just you wait, though. One day I'll find the perfect zinger, and you won't know what hit you."

"I eagerly await the day."

The two friends shared a quick laugh, before Twilight regained her composure.

"We better get on the train."

"Yeah."

Twilight and Spike slowly trotted towards the train: Steam was bellowing out from underneath the engine, and the sound of the pistons revving could be heard from blocks away. Spike hopped aboard first, followed by Twilight. However, the unicorn stopped at the top of the stairs, and looked back down the platform, hoping for Applejack to make some sort of dramatic entrance. She knew that it wasn't the farmer pony's style to make a scene, but Twilight liked holding onto the hope that the last cog would show up.

Somewhere, Princess Celestia heard her prayer.

"YEE-HAW!"

The tan farmer came bounding up the steps of the station just as the train was beginning to move forward. Twilight began to giggle once again, but this time it was out of sheer amazement. With a burst of speed that would have made a Wonderbolt jealous, Applejack sprinted up to the passenger car Twilight was standing at the entrance to, and plopped down directly in front of the unicorn, a rustic grin smothered on her sweating face.

"Just in time, huh?"

"Yeah. You're lucky you ran so fast, otherwise you would have missed us by miles."

"Ah 'spose ah did get a bit carried away." Applejack sheepishly grinned, noticing how slow they were moving.

"Yeah, but all that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're here: The Elements of Harmony, venturing together on yet another quest."

"Not all the Elements, sugarcube."

"Oh, right. Sorry, A.J. I still sometimes forget that-"

Yet again, Twilight's word were cut off, but this time it was a welcome relief. Applejack's hoof had been gently placed over the unicorn's mouth, effectively seizing her confession.

"It's understandable, Twi'. Even ah sometimes forget she's gone."

"Same here. Anyway, why don't we head on inside. Everybody is already in there, and I wouldn't mind staying out of the smoke plumes."

"Ah can't argue with that there logic."

Together, the two mares walked into the passenger car. The train steadily increased it's acceleration, and before long, Ponyville was just a blur on the horizon. Twilight stared out a window of the train, at the town she had grown so close to over the years, and let out a sigh.

"Here we go.


	6. Chapter 6

_The Canterlot Academy of Magic was the most prestigious school of the mystical arts in all of Equestria, if not the entire planet. It was run by the Princess of the Sun, Princess Celestia, and employed some of history's most famous sorcerers as it's faculty, including the famous wizard, Star Swirl the Bearded. It was a school that every unicorn dreamed of one day attending, and a school that nearly every applicant got rejected from. Only one out of every five-hundred unicorns got accepted into the school, and even fewer managed to actually graduate. It was a school reserved for those whose life calling was magic. The students inhaled magic, exhaled magic, ate magic, showered with magic, and so on. It was a place of serious business._

_Which is why it surprised Princess Celestia that three-fourths of her class were asleep._

While she had to admit that learning the basic rules and precautions of spell-casting was a, for lack of a better word, repetitive class, the lack of motivation in her classroom made her fear for the future. These were freshmen- the future mages of Equestria; they should be completely giddy about even the most basic of spells and magical theory.

_ As she scanned the drooping, drooling faces of her class, she came across the one bright spot: A purple unicorn, grinning, eager, and alert. Her name was Twilight Sparkle, and Celestia already knew that she was going to be the bright spot in the year's crop of new students: Not just because she seemed to be the only filly who wanted to be there, but because she had witnessed the power and ability of the tiny filly firsthand. It was clear that Twilight contained limitless potential, and Celestia was confident that she could dredge most of it out of her. She made eye contact with her pupil, and smiled._

_ "Okay, class. Now, I'm going to see how much you have learned from today's instruction. I'll need a volunteer."_

_ Twilight's hoof shot up: Most of the class was still unaware that the Princess had even spoke._

_ "Any other volunteers?"_

_ "Ooh! Ooh!" Twilight's purple foreleg was waving through the air fast enough that it knocked a scroll off her desk._

_ "Very well. You. Twilight Sparkle, is it?"_

_ "Y-y-y-y-y-y-yes, P-p-Princess Celestia." The sudden, direct attention was almost too much for the filly to take- she was shaking from hoof to horn._

_ "Come up here, little one. I won't bite."_

_ Twilight let out a nervous laugh, the anxiety seeping through the vocalizations. She looked to her left and too her right, expecting to see the same faces from magic kindergarten: Mocking her with nicknames, and rude stares. However, none of the class seemed to even care- the only set of eyes on Twilight were Princess Celestia's. Hesitantly, the filly rose from her seat, and moved down the aisle- tripping over two saddlebags along the way. She stumbled up to the monarch, sheepishly grinning up at her. Celestia smiled back, and the purple unicorn gulped._

_ "I assume you've been paying attention to my lecture. Is that correct?"_

_ "Y-yes, Princess Celestia."_

_ "So you know the basic principles behind a teleportation spell?"_

_ "Yes, Princess Celestia."_

_ "Would you be willing to show it to us?"_

_ "I beg your pardon?"_

_ "Can you show us how you perform such a spell?"_

_ "Isn't t-t-that...I've never done that spell before. I-I-I'm not sure if I c-could."_

_ "If you know the fundamentals, performing it should be second-nature."_

_ "Yeah, but...but."_

_ "You have no reason to fear, Twilight Sparkle. I'll be right here if you need assistance."_

_ "O-okay."_

_ "Now. Let's see what you can do."_

_ Twilight nodded lightly, not entirely enthused about the Princess' teaching methods. Still, she was the Princess, and if anything did go wrong, the Princess would have her back. Twilight exhaled, and looked back up at the towering monarch._

_ "What I want you to do is teleport this spoon from the table," Celestia placed the spoon on her desk, ten feet away from the unicorn, "to your hoof."_

_ Twilight nodded once more, closed her eyes, and began the process. _

'_Focus, Twilight. Focus…Don't look at the spoon…Look through the spoon…Accept…That there is no spoon…'_

_ Convinced that her concentration was at it's apex, the purple filly began running through the checklist in her mind- making sure that her process was correct, down to the very last period._

_ "Step one: Focus. Check"_

_ "Step two: See the object. Not where it is, but where you want it to be…Check."_

_ "Step three: Embrace eternity."_

_ Sparks shot out of her horn, showering everything within reach. She could feel the spoon's presence slowly growing in a space that, mere seconds ago, was devoid of any form of spoonliness. She took a brief millisecond to pat herself on the back- and completely botched the whole thing. Once-controlled magic sprayed around the room wildly: Books flew off the shelves, pages burning due to the sudden force and heat of the spell. Sleeping unicorns' heads shot up, wide awake, just in time to dodge the debris soaring around the room. The spell began to burn Twilight's brain, as well. She opened her mouth to scream, but no words came out. It was just like her entrance exam: The sudden, uncontrollable power, the disconnection from the world, the searing pain. It felt like she had been floating in an ocean of misery for centuries, and she was sure that she was far enough from civilization that she would float on for even more centuries: Adrift, alone, surrounded by her ghost._

_ Then, a magical hoof came down from the blood-red sky, and tapped her shoulder. It was a light nudge, but it was enough. It told Twilight that she wasn't alone. It told her that someone was there, trying to reel her back in. She looked up from her dark oblivion, and saw a bright light shining high above her withered soul. Twilight felt at peace. Closing her eyes, she released herself to her fate: She embraced eternity._

Twilight awoke to the morning sun: She prayed that she had slept through the entire trip, but she knew that was not the case. Using her forehooves to wipe the sleep from her eyes, Twilight slowly arose from her bed, an orchestra of popping joints marking each movement. It was silent in the car, aside from the sounds of the train, and the ride was turning out to be much more stable than Twilight had originally anticipated. The first time she had taken a train anywhere, it had been pulled by stallions: The ride had been moderately rough. After the sudden increase in steam productivity, the trains in Equestria were able to pull themselves, rather than rely on physical labor. She had ridden in a steam engine once before: on a trip to Canterlot. While the ride had been noticeably gentle, she hadn't had enough time to gauge the actual smoothness of it. Now, she could fully test the engines, and so far, they were making a passing grade: She had actually been able to get to sleep this time.

Twilight scanned the room, and saw that all it's other occupants were asleep. She could make out Fluttershy's soft snoring, and see Pinkie fidgeting her sleep. Rarity was also in bed, her face covered with various lotions, her hair done up in curlers. Twilight couldn't tell if she was sleeping or just resting, due to the sleep mask she had tugged over her eyes, but she was leaning towards the former. She checked Applejack and Spike's beds, and found them to be unoccupied. Relieved to find that she was not the only one of her friends awake, she headed out of the passenger car, towards the dining car: Twilight was sure Spike would be there.

Despite the relative smoothness of the ride, she was finding the task of walking to be a chore: With each step, the car shuddered, and she had to lean onto one of the many chairs or beds to regain her balance- bumping into a pony or two in the process. After a lengthy apology to a pegasus in a business suit over a spilt cup of coffee, Twilight was finally able to reach the dining car, and flopped down in a seat. For a second, she could not remember why she was there, and quite frankly, she didn't care, either. At that moment, the only thing that mattered was stasis.

"Looks like somepony ain't got their land legs yet."

Applejack was sitting in a booth, just across the aisle: She had a cup of coffee laying on the table beside her, and her hat had been tilted back to such a degree that Twilight was unsure how it managed to stay on her head. The orange earth pony smirked at the unamused unicorn, before moving over to the booth she was sitting at- placing herself directly across from Twilight.

"It's good ta see that ah aint' the only pony on here that ain't sleepin'."

"I take it we haven't been traveling long." Twilight let out a disheartened sigh.

"An hour."

"Ugh! Why must my body preclude my sleep?"

"What now?"

"It means prevent."

"Alrighty then. Ah don't know... Ta answer yer question."

"I wasn't expecting you to."

"Uhh, sure."

"So, what are you doing up, A.J? You probably had to wake up pretty early this morning."

"Twilight, Ah work on a farm. Ah get up at dawn every morning. This ain't 'early' for me. Besides, ah couldn't sleep if ah wanted ta."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Well, for starters, Ah had ta give Apple Bloom 'The Talk' this mornin'."

"My goodness! Isn't she a bit young to be learning that?"

"Ah ain't talkin' 'bout the birds and the bees, Twilight. Ah told her 'bout... Well, ah told her 'bout what happned ta Rainbow."

"Oh...That must have been hard."

"Yeah, it was. Hopefully, It'll all be fine by the time ah get back. Still, Apple Bloom ain't the main thing that's on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Ah'd...Ah'd rather keep it ta myself for the time bein', Twi."

"Are you sure? If you want to talk about it, I'm all ears."

"No, Twilight ah _don't._ It's personal."

Twilight could see the annoyance pumping through Applejack's veins, and ceased her probing. While the unicorn hungered for answers, she didn't want to get on Applejack's 'bad side'. Sure, the farmer was typically calm and collected, but everypony had their breaking points, and Twilight wanted nothing more than to steer clear of hostility. Hastily, she changed the subject.

"Have you seen Spike, by any chance?"

"Last ah saw of him, he was headin' to the bathroom. That was 'bout thirty minutes ago. Right before I came in here."

"Hmm. He _shouldn't _still be in there, but this _is_ Spike we're talking about."

"Hehheh, loverboy's probably in there stylin' his scale or somethin'."

"Yeah. You know Spike: Him, plus Rarity, times cramped space, equals

"Sweet dreams." Applejack burst into a thick guffaw: It took Twilight longer than she wanted to understand what was so funny, but once she did, she was positively abashed.

"Oh, come on, Applejack! Get your head out of the gutter." Twilight tried her best to seem offended, but the earth pony's laugh was so infectious that she joined in the cackling herself.

"Ah'm sorry, Twilight. Ah just couldn't resist. Needed ta say somethin' ta lighten the mood, ya'll know?" Applejack was gasping for air, "Sounded like somethin' Rainbow'd say."

"Yeah, I can just hear it now: That damn laugh of hers, pardon my language."

"Yer fine, Twilight. Ya'll know just how big of a buckin' pottymouth ah am. Of course, knowin' Rainbow, her version of that joke'd be a lot less subtle."

"True, true. Haha...Remember that time, after that whole fiasco with the dresses and Hoity Toity? Rarity was having a complete breakdown, and we were trying to calm her down by assuring she wasn't a laughing stock, and-"

"Rainbow said, 'She kinda is'," Applejack finished Twilight's statement, and the both descended into another giggling fit.

"Oh, that Rainbow. Always saying the wrong things at the wrong time."

"Yeah...But when anypony needed her, _really_ needed her, she'd have the best timing in the world."

"That's true." Twilight looked down at the table, mournfully: No matter how upbeat any conversation she had about Rainbow Dash started, it would always cycle around to the tragic denouement. Applejack had taken to looking out the windows, watching the trees blur as the train blew past.

"Ah'd give my left hind leg ta race against her again. Sure it'd probably end with us fightin' over who won, but at least we'd be able ta talk, ya'll know?"

"Yeah, I do." Another wave of silence fell over the two ponies, but this time it was out of respect, rather than awkwardness.

"Hey, Twi. Ah'm sorry."

"About what?"

"About the way ah acted yesterday. Ah shouldn't have yelled at ya'll."

"Oh, that. You don't have to apologize, Applejack. I understand."

Applejack nodded: Her mind disagreed, '_You don't know the half of it, Twilight.'_

"Well, it's been great talking with you, Applejack, but I think I need to find Spike. Thirty minutes in the bathroom seems a bit much for him."

"Ya'll know him best." Applejack snickered.

"Why do I get the feeling that you turned what I just said into some sort of innuendo?"

"'Cause ah did."

"Applejack. You are so silly, sometimes."

"Hehheh, ah guess ya'll could say that."

"Anyway, I'll see you around lunchtime, I guess."

"Yep, ah'll probably still be up here."

"Alright, and remember: If you want to talk about anything, I'm more than willing to listen."

"Ah'll remember the offer. Probably won't use it, but ah'll remember."

"Good enough. See ya later, A.J."

"Yeah, see ya."

Twilight rose from the booth, and made her way down the aisle. Her exit was far more graceful than her entrance, but not by much: She was just lucky that there were no drinks around that she could knock over with her stumbling. She heard a chorus of giggles from Applejack, but chose to ignore them. '_She may find this amusing, but I have yet to see her take a step on this train. I bet she fell as much as me.' _Twilight smirked at the image of Applejack stumbling around the train car like a pebble in the rapids. She turned back to the farmer, and saw a brief flare in her green eyes that dissipated as soon as they were met by purple iris'. She kept her eyes locked on Applejack's briefly, before fully exiting the car, her mind ablaze with the fires of one-hundred thoughts.

_ It was a late-fall evening, and two kilometers above the land of Equestria, everything was perfect. The sun was hitting clouds at just the right angle, and the wind was blowing with just enough force to lightly push the clouds through the sky- allowing for a scenic view that never quite stayed the same. There were just two problems with the location. The first was that the wind was frigid, which was to be expected at such an altitude._

_ The second was that Rarity was deathly afraid of heights._

_ Rainbow Dash soared above the unicorn's head, pulling off a multitude of tricks of all difficulties: From the novice loops, to the more advanced, exclusive moves, like the Buccaneer Blaze. Throughout the pegasus' entire practice session, Rarity had sat firmly on the cloud, refusing to move even an inch in any direction. Despite the known effectiveness of Twilight's cloud-walking spell, she couldn't bring herself to trust the vapor she sat on. Each time she looked down at the white, frozen crystals, all she could see was them falling out from below her, causing her to plummet towards certain death._

_ "So, on a scale of 1 to 10- with 1 being 'awesome', and 10 being 'AWESOME'- how awesome was I?" Rainbow Dash had touched down behind the unicorn, striking a pose that Rarity didn't notice._

_ "Oh, I'd say a seven." Her voice rang out, saliently _

_ "Just a seven? Come on, Rarity, I know it was better than that," Rainbow stopped once she got a good look at the dejected expression on Rarity's face, "Somethin' wrong, Rare?" The cockiness that had brightened her words had faded, replaced by concern._

_ "Well, to be honest, darling, I'm not exactly comfortable up here."_

_ "You're not? How come you didn't mention that before?"_

_ "Because you've never brought me up here before."_

_ "Oh, yeah. I forgot you're still a cloud-virgin."_

_ "Please, Rainbow Dash. I nearly beat you in the Best Young Fliers competition. I believe 'cloud-virgin' is a rather invalid term."_

_ "The only reason you almost won was because I was saving my best for the right moment."_

_ "Uh huh, and pray tell, why did saving your best involve cowering in a corner in the green room?"_

_ "Oh, there you go. Bringing that up again! You know, you've brought that up so many times that, sometimes, I regret catching you." Rainbow chuckled, Rarity did not: She looked away from the pegasus, barely containing the fact that she was beginning to cry_

_ "Rare? Jeez, I was just kidding."_

_ "Hmph. You sure kid a lot, don't you? Honestly, Rainbow, are you ever serious?" The unicorn scowled, and Rainbow flinched: Hell hath no fury like a mare scorned_

_ "Duh, of course I am. I'm serious at flying, at competitions... With you."_

_ Rarity smirked, 'You sly debonair,' she tried to keep an expression of pure anger on her face, but her muscles were betraying her: Rainbow saw this, and began prodding the unicorn's heart again, with even more passion._

_ "Of course, I don't really need to take those competitions that seriously. I barely try, and I still win them all: I'm just that awesome. But, you... I have to put some effort into you. Not because you're difficult, or something like that... But because you deserve one-hundred percent, every time."_

_ Rarity felt a surge of passion snake it's way through her nerves. She had never asked Rainbow if she had any marefriends before her, but considering Dash's knack for stimulation, the answer was probably a resounding 'yes'. She hated it when Rainbow went through these sudden bouts of suaveness: Mainly because they were so hard to resist._

_ She turned towards the athletic pegasus, and marched at her. She hoped that her heavy strides would mask the smile steadily growing on her face. Judging by Rainbow's drawn-back demeanor, her tactics were working. She pressed her white, pulchritudinous snout against Rainbow's, and their eyes locked. Rainbow gulped as Rarity's eyes narrowed._

_ "Curse you, Rainbow Dash."_

_ The pegasus opened her mouth to respond with flawless timing. Rarity gracefully slipped her lips over Rainbow's, leaving the wide-eyed mare shocked. A fraction of a second later, Rainbow came to her senses, and let her lips do the same. It wasn't the most passionate kiss in the world- it was more of a prolonged peck on the lips- but it was enough. They both lived extravagant, vivacious lifestyles, but when it came to love, it was the little things that counted._

_ In the spur of the moment, Rainbow chose to embrace Rarity in her forelegs, and lifted herself off the cloud with her wings to keep herself from toppling onto the cloud. As she propelled herself back into the sky, she began to lift Rarity with her. Feeling her hooves leave solid "ground", the unicorn began to kick and scream, begging Rainbow to place her back on the clouds. Rainbow Dash assumed that the unicorn was simply acting, and ignored her loud pleas of protest. It wasn't until Rarity kicked her square in the gut that Rainbow knew it wasn't a game. They both collapsed back on the cloud, Rarity curling up in terror,, and Rainbow curling up in pain, clutching her sore belly._

_ "Ow... What the hay, Rare?" The cyan mare managed to gag out, her retching stomach moaning in protest. The white unicorn lay across from her, shaking violently, kicking up equally white plumes of cumulonimbus. Seeing her marefriend in such a state of despair triggered an empathetic instinct in Rainbow, and her pains subsided. She rose to her hooves, trotted around Rarity, and flopped down on the cloud, looking straight into her face. The unicorn's blue eyes had contracted, but as soon as they noticed the pegasus, they were locked on._

_ "You okay?"_

_ She shook her head. Rainbow gave a sympathetic smile, and wrapped her in a tight hug. She held onto the unicorn until the shaking seized, and the only movement was the rising of their chests as they inhaled together. Rarity had her face buried into Rainbow's chest, not caring about how sweaty the pegasus' body was: It felt good, even if it wasn't exactly sanitary or ladylike._

_ "Ya better now?"_

_ This time Rarity nodded, letting out an muffled, "Yes." Rainbow pulled her head back, but kept the unicorn in her embrace. The rays of solar light were breaking through the clouds, bathing the entwined ponies in a sea of reds and oranges. They looked at each other, their forms surrounded by the dusk's glow, and saw unmatched beauty. It was a moment of undiluted serenity that neither wished would end._

_ "So, what was with that freak out, anyway?"_

_ "I'm not the biggest fan of heights."_

"_I see... Still a little shaken up about Cloudsdale?"_

_ "Yes. Even though that was over a year ago, I still can't-"_

_ "You still feel like you're gonna fall, right?"_

_ "Exactly... How ever did you know that?"_

_ "You're not exactly subtle."_

_ "Oh." Rarity let out an embarrassed laugh, and Rainbow pulled her closer._

_ "Relax, Rare. Ya got nothin' to be scared of. Not when I'm here. Remember what happened at the Best Young Fliers competition?"_

_ "I fell."_

_ "And?"_

_ "I was selfish."_

_ "No, not that."_

_ "I made a fool of myself."_

_ "No! What did I do when you fell?"_

_ "You...You caught me."_

_ "Exactly. I caught you."_

_ Rarity smiled; She set her sights on the horizon, and watched the last tendrils of sunlight fall behind the mountains, her body leaning against Rainbow's the whole time._

_ "I'll always catch you."_

"Rarity?"

"Hmm?"

"It's me, Spike."

"Hmm."

"You asleep?"

"Not anymore."

"Good...I think. Look, I need to talk to you for a minute."

"Can it wait, Spike?"

"Rarity, _please?"_

She sighed. She didn't want to talk. She wanted to go back to sleep. She wanted to go back to the dream she had been having. She wanted to go _back._ However, there was something about the tone in Spike's voice that made her want to stay awake: It sounded like he was pleading. She groaned, and sat up in the rickety bed: It was already quite clear that she was not going to be getting much beauty sleep on the train. She removed the sleep mask she was wearing, and stared at Spike through blurry, squinted eyes.

The tiny dragon was just barely tall enough to look over the edge of the bed: The height differential was so close that he actually had to lean his head back at a forty-five degree angle, just to be able to clearly see over the bed. It took a moment for Rarity's vision to fully come into focus, and once it did, she was glad that she had chosen not to ignore Spike's begging. He looked horrible: His eyes were tired, with a hint of red around the edges, and he wore a concerned expression.

"What is it, Spike?"

"You were mumbling in your sleep."

"Oh...I was?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, it was mostly gibberish."

"_Mostly?"_

"Well, I do think I heard you say 'Rainbow' once."

"Oh... I...I did?"

"You did, and I just, you know, wanted to make sure you were okay."

"That's very sweet of you."

"Oh, it's nothing, really. I've heard Twilight talking in her sleep every night since... Well, you know. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you weren't having any nightmares or anything."

"Oh, Spikey Wikey, you're such a caring friend. And no, I was not having nightmares, or anything remotely close to them, for that matter. Thank you for asking, though."

Rarity saw Spike blush at her compliment, and could not help but chuckle lightly to herself. She had always known that Spike had a crush on her, but had done her best to ignore it for a long time. Although she thought the crush was 'cute', and that he was a 'sweet' dragon, she could not say she had ever held any "interest" in the dragon. To her, he was a younger brother- a good friend she could always count on, and had a heart of gold. She loved him, just not in the way that he loved her.

"Hey you know me, Rarity. I've always got your back."

"I know, Spike," The unicorn pulled him into a sisterly hug. It took him by surprise first, but once the shock wore off, Spike embraced her with even more passion.

"I'd do anything for you." Spike mumbled into her chest, the sweet smell of perfume seeping into his nose.

"I know you would."

"If those Diamond Dogs caught you again, I'd fight them off with just my claws."

"I know you would." She said, patting him gently on the back

"If you were lost in the Everfree Forest, I'd walk for days to find you."

"I know, Spike, I know." She was patting his back harder, hoping that it would signal him that he had said enough.

"If you were falling from the sky-"

"_I'd catch you."_

Rarity was glad that Spike had no nerves in his scales, because if he did, he would be able to feel the tears spilling down his back as she held him tighter. When she finally spoke back up, she was barely able to keep her voice steady.

"I know, Spikey Wikey...I know."


End file.
